Only Hope Remains - Book 2 in the Chronicles of Samantha Shepard
by Desert Sunrise
Summary: Dr Liara T'Soni was on top of the world...until the day her world came crashing down. A surprise attack took away her love of a lifetime, throwing Liara into a world of despair and anger, until an offer of aid came from a most unlikely source. Liara would have to chance it in an attempt to regain what she lost. Only one thing remained for her - hope. The hope of a second chance.
1. Broken Dreams

**Notes: This story is a sequel to **_**Samantha Shepard First Life**_**, and a quick interlude about the "two years" while Shepard was being rebuilt and returned to the galaxy at large. Lots of extra characters, some of whom were introduced in **_**First Life**_**, but still a fairly canon story, but goes a bit AU with the Liara love interest well advanced. Main plot stays relatively consistent with the game, comics, etc.**

* * *

Ch 1: Broken Dreams

The space was prime real estate; an upper-level office with a large window and a full view of the entire trading floor. Through the window, the occupant had an excellent line of sight to the multiple entry ways, so it was very easy to monitor _and record_ everyone coming and going on Illium. That was important in her business. The office was spacious, much more than she needed, really, with plenty of room for a large desk, various computer terminals and a comfortable seating area. There was also a separate receptionist area outside the main door to control traffic flow in and out of the office. The Matriarch had chosen well when she purchased this space, and what once belonged to Matriarch Benezia now belonged to Dr Liara T'Soni, Information Broker.

Liara sat at her desk, scouring the data feeds for any hints as to the whereabouts of the Shadow Broker or any news of Samantha Shepard's return, just like she had every day for the last two years, ever since she had turned over the charred remains of the commander to that frigid Cerberus agent, Miranda Lawson. Cerberus! Even if they did manage to bring Commander Shepard back from the dead, would it really be her? And if it was her, could Samantha ever forgive her? _They were responsible for the death of her father! Goddess, what have I done? _Her eyes closed momentarily to shut down the tears that threatened to emerge as her guilt tried to wheedle its way to the fore. Some days were better than others, some days were horrible. That would be a good description for Liara's current day...horrible. She didn't find any new leads, and most of her Information Broker deals in progress were at a stage that did not require any immediate action, so she had no distractions. On those empty days without a focal point, the doubts gnawed at her subconscious. Her mind tended to wander and she had a tendency to remember... and many of those memories were far from pleasant.

* * *

They had stepped onto Thessia with such promise for their future, the galaxy wide open to them. The week had been pleasurable, even with the stresses of handling the transfer of the T'Soni estate from Matriarch Benezia to Liara. The security plans Shepard put in place had paid off, and the one attempt made on Liara's life was discovered and truncated before it got off the ground. Capt Axoni and her commandos performed magnificently and Liara had been completely unaware of the danger until Shepard told her of it after the fact. At first, the revelation had angered her. Before she thought it through, the fact that Shepard had kept critical information from her made her instinctively question the trust she put in Shepard. As she got over the initial perceived hurt, she realized that very trust was exactly why she didn't need to know. She was completely submersed in dealing with the estate executor, busy laying out investment plans and funds disbursements, and that task required her undivided attention in order to be completed on time.

Liara knew herself well enough; she knew if Shepard had told her what was going on, she would have been totally unable to concentrate on her task at hand. Shepard had done her job and Liara had done hers, and it was Shepard's decision that had allowed both of them to complete their independent tasks to the best of their abilities. In retrospect, logically it had been the right call. Growing up, Liara's logic and instinct were seldom in such conflict, but life with Shepard had brought a whole new host of challenges into the Asari's life and she was still adapting. Shepard was her partner and soul mate, but Liara was still used to being independent and sometimes it was hard for her to give up control. _Goddess, I'm just like Shepard in that regard._ Shepard had been typically patient with her; as Liara ranted, Samantha didn't say a word. Once Liara had talked herself completely through the events, she had turned her thoughts around and convinced herself that it was, after all, the right call and Shepard had just laughed. She had understood Liara's reaction completely, referencing an ancient human adage, 'old habits die hard.' Even for Liara that one required no explanation, and it had seemed particularly appropriate at the time.

Liara had loved the opportunity to show her home world to Samantha. They had arranged to stay in the Armali townhome for four days while conducting business with the executor, Matriarch Mozia T'Sessi. She was a personal friend to Tevos, and handled many of her more delicate affairs when the Councilor was unable to return to Thessia to take care of them personally. They found the Matriarch amiable and professional, and she guided them quickly through the processes and procedures, efficiently bringing the business portion of their trip to a rapid close. With the estate plans in place and witnessed by a Matriarch Quorum, their final day in Armali was totally unencumbered. The townhome itself was not to Shepard's tastes; it was very luxurious, with all modern amenities, but it was too sterile. It was all metal and glass, and reminded Shepard of a commercial office space more so than a home. Of course, the Matriarch had used it for business in the city, so maybe that feel was by design. While the townhome itself was functional but not necessarily pleasing, the city of Armali was wonderful. It was a cultural center, so had a plethora of museums, concert halls and open gardens. Since their last day was entirely free, they had spent it with Liara showing Shepard the highlights. They ended their day with dinner at an amazing restaurant followed by a walk in a beautiful park near the townhome, enjoying the quiet and tranquility of a stunning star-filled sky. They ended their night perfectly naked, making sweet, tender love into the midnight hours, until they fell asleep, deeply entwined in both mind and body, content and at peace.

While the townhome in Armali was very much modernized, Shepard had absolutely loved the serenity and openness surrounding the T'Soni country estate. After spending the last three days of their week there, they decided that when the time came, the country estate would be their full time residence. It didn't have the attractions of the big city, but the home itself was constructed of wood and stone and had a more traditional feel, which Shepard loved. It was much larger, would be able to easily accommodate multiple guests, and had stunning vistas off the numerous verandas and balconies about the house. It was mostly surrounded by beautiful pastoral gardens, but the eastern side faced the ocean, with inviting white sand beaches that stretched as far as the eye could see. Their final night on Thessia, they had walked the beach after dinner, together with their thoughts. Shepard loved the soothing rhythms of the soft surf on the shore. The peacefulness made it almost easy to forget the Reapers, even if only for a little while. Shepard had stopped and watched the sun set to the southwest when she heard Liara ask if she cared to go swimming, saying, "The water is perfect this time of year." Shepard laughed, saying she hadn't even brought a suit. When she finally turned back, Liara was standing waist deep in the water, wearing nothing but a shy smile. Her clothing lay abandoned on the shore and her wet skin shimmered iridescent under the Thessian moon; it was the most entrancing sight Shepard had ever seen. Never taking her eyes off Liara, Shepard stripped down and entered the water, closing the distance to her love slowly, as if a rapid movement would scare away the beautiful vision before her. As their bodies came together, they both shivered with delight, Liara humming with contentment, the contrast of the cooling water and their now shared body heat exhilarating and stimulating. They held each other close in the glistening moonlight.

Their kiss, initially tranquil and welcoming, built quickly to express a need and desire for more, becoming deep and desperate. Liara pulled Sam close with one arm while her opposite hand went to the back of Shepard's head and played with her silken hair. Liara had always been fascinated with human hair, and she loved the way it flowed like a soft caress between her fingers. With one hand, Shepard stroked Liara's crest; her other arm snaked around the Asari's waist and her hand planted quickly into her lover's lower back, expertly searching out the folds she knew were so sensitive. Liara wasn't expecting it, and she gasped into their kiss as her knees buckled, Samantha catching and supporting her in the water. The speed of her arousal caught her completely unprepared and Liara had trouble forming a full sentence, but managed to stammer out, "Goddess... beach... please!" Shepard took pity on the vulnerable Asari and moved to the shore, folding gently down into the sand. She immediately resumed her administrations, and felt Liara collide with her mind, shamelessly begging permission to enter. Shepard welcomed her in, pushing back with a wave of trust and unending love. Liara's thoughts were jumbled, awash with swirling emotions. Shepard saw visions of the shore, the moon, and then of herself, and she realized Liara was sharing how she felt about Samantha, being with her here on Thessia, her home world. Until that moment, Shepard had not fully comprehended how deeply Liara cherished being able to share her culture, how much she treasured Shepard's support through all the issues regarding Benezia. Shepard finally understood just how much Liara loved her; for accepting her, for trusting her, for easing her loneliness, for giving her a new family and for giving her hope of a future. The love Shepard received in exchange for those things was exquisite.

Shepard reciprocated, showing Liara images of the happy times Liara had given her, just by being with her, supporting her through her trials, her pain, her insecurities. Liara was her love and her light, the one who kept her from the road of despair. The one that gave her hope and a beacon that allowed her to always find her way home. Liara was her home. During all the exchanges of emotion, the meld had deepened to the point where their emotions, thoughts and physical pleasures had intertwined to become one. Shepard had not stopped with her physical ministrations to her lover's body, and had moved into the wet folds between Liara's thighs. Liara had whimpered as two fingers had penetrated deep within her, followed by repeated soft cries of pleasure as Shepard increased the tempo of her efforts. As Samantha had shared thoughts of thankfulness for Liara's support, Liara started to rock her hips in rhythm with the physical thrusts, climbing close to the brink. The swell of emotions accompanying Shepard's final thought, _{No matter where, you are my home!}_ sent Liara over the edge, stiffening into climax. She arched her hips off the sand and the two came together as one, sharing each other's pleasure, each intensifying the other's orgasm as shared ecstasy claimed them.

They lay on the beach next to their pile of clothes, trying to catch their breath and holding each other tight as the aftershocks tapered off. Liara cried tears of joy due to the release of the overwhelming emotions that had been bottled up for so long. Still connected via the meld, Shepard tried to capture the tears off her lover's cheeks as they fell, not upset because she knew they were happy tears, and her frenzied attempts to catch every teardrop with her lips made both of them start to laugh. If anyone had seen them, they would have thought them crazy; two naked people rolling in the wet sand after dark, laughing and crying at the same time. With a breath shuddering from fatigue, Liara finally let the meld dissolve and they finally rose, to rinse off and throw their clothes back on for a leisurely walk back to the house. They walked side by side, Liara's arm around Shepard's waist, Shepard's arm around Liara's shoulders, heads leaning in and meeting in the middle, two as one, even without the meld. Liara and Samantha had become 'we.' It was a foregone conclusion, so natural and easy; circumstances had brought them together, and there was no longer any doubt in their minds as to them having a shared future.

During their time on Thessia, they had accomplished all of their major goals. They had worked with the staff of both locations, made sure the homes would be redecorated to their tastes, and that the commandos had the discretionary funds to acquire the upgrades and improved equipment Shepard had selected. Between the overhaul in the armories and a few joint training sessions, by the end of the week they had built a solid relationship of trust and reciprocal admiration that instilled both confidence and loyalty. They all parted on the best of terms, everyone looking forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership. The week had passed all too quickly, and soon it was time to return to the Citadel and the Normandy. They traveled with heavy hearts, knowing the tasks still before them would be difficult. They had no clues, no leads. How were they to stop the Reapers, when they didn't even know where to begin looking? All they knew for sure was that they had each other, and that would be enough. The same two commandos who joined them for their trip to Thessia still traveled with them, the pilot Judea Voni, and Huntress Riana Iregos. Judea would stay with the transport at the Citadel, getting recommended refits and weapons system upgrades, but Riana would travel with them on the Normandy. She would be a fine addition to the ground teams, and she could provide Liara security and companionship while Shepard was tied up with military duties and otherwise indisposed. Until they were positive the threat to Liara's life had been nullified, Shepard felt better with a little additional protective assistance.

When they arrived at the Citadel, the Normandy was nearly ready, updated with all the latest retrofits and gleaming with its new paint. They literally just had to sit and wait for the paint to dry. Those few days were spent engulfed in a public relations campaign, with numerous interviews and award presentations. Shepard hated every moment of it, and the peace and tranquility they had found during their two weeks of leave was ground to dust by frustration. The days were taken up by personal appearances; the nights by dinners with every known politician who could find their way to the Citadel for a photo op with the great Commander Shepard and the crew of the Normandy. By the time the Normandy was ready, four days later, Shepard was more than eager to take on the mantle of Spectre and take to the stars once again. Their only direction was to pursue the Geth, in hopes they would somehow reveal where Sovereign had originated or at least initially contacted them. If they could find that point in space, they would at least have a starting point for their search.

* * *

A raven-haired woman, Miranda Lawson, stood in front of a huge window, with a red supergiant star in visible through the viewport. In the center of a room, a man sat at a small desk with various holographic displays open in front of him, smoking a cigarette. He was Jack Harper, better known to his associates as the Illusive Man.

Miranda was facing out the window as she spoke in a gentle Australian accent, "Shepard did everything right, more than we could have hoped for. Saving the Citadel, even saving the Council. Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy..." She then turned toward the Illusive Man. "...and still it's not enough."

The Illusive Man looked up from his display to look at Miranda, shrugging his shoulders. "Our sacrifices have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains our best hope."

Miranda was angry, her voice rose as she walked toward Jack. "But they're sending her to fight Geth. Geth of all things! We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are...and they're still out there!" She stopped in front of the man, waiting impatiently on some form of reply.

Jack took a long drag on his cigarette before responding. "And it's up to us to stop them."

He calmly watched Lawson, probably his most reliable operative, as she crossed her arms in frustration. She sneered, "The Council will never trust Cerberus. They'll never accept our help. Even after everything humanity has accomplished." She dropped her arms and turned back to the star outside the window. "But Shepard...they'll follow her. She's a hero, a bloody icon. But she's just one woman. If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."

The Illusive Man's face hardened into granite and his voice became ice as he put out his cigarette and focused on Operative Lawson. "Then see to it that we don't lose her." It was not a request. It was an ultimatum. Miranda Lawson was very much aware of what happened to people who disappointed the Illusive Man, and she did not plan on ever being one of them.

* * *

It had been just under a month since the attack on the Citadel, and the Normandy was once again headed for deep space. They were headed to the relay, to make a series of jumps out to the fringes of Citadel space, back toward the Terminus Systems and the Perseus Veil. To quell the rumors and stop potential panic about the Reapers, the Council had officially blamed the attack on Saren and his army of Geth, with no mention of Sovereign other than as a massive Geth dreadnought. As such, the Normandy's official task was to wipe out the remaining pockets of Geth resistance. The classified Spectre portion of the mission was to find any clues as to the origins or locations of the Reapers. Their entire crew returned, with the exception of Wrex. One of their anti-pirate side missions had turned up an old family relic, one of Wrex's ancestral Clan Urdnot suits of armor, and it made him start considering a return to Tuchanka, the Krogan home world. With the defeat of Saren and Sovereign, Wrex thought the Normandy would lack worthy enemies, so he had decided to return home in an attempt to unite the Clans and find a cure for the Genophage. After what he had witnessed on Virmire, he felt restoring the pride of the Krogan people would be a worthy, and necessary, goal. Wrex offered no goodbyes. Instead, he told Shepard, "If you find any big monsters, you call me. The Krogan will come help you kill them!" As the ship left its moorings, Commander Shepard and Dr T'Soni stood side-by-side on the Bridge behind Joker, shoulders just barely touching, watching as the ship started to slip in amongst the stars. With the now familiar deck of the Normandy under her feet, with Shepard at her side, it had felt like bliss.

For two weeks, the Normandy hopped from system to system, ferreting out small pockets of Geth and eliminating them. Wrex had been correct; they had not proved much of a challenge. Without Sovereign, their resistance was disorganized and ineffectual. That all changed at Alchera. They had been searching in the Amada System of the Omega Nebula after receiving reports of three ships having gone missing in the same area. They had found nothing for four days...and then something found them. An unidentified ship appeared on the long-range scanner, huge in size, matching no known profile in the Systems Alliance database. Even though the Normandy's stealth system was engaged, the unknown vessel changed course to an intercept trajectory. Joker quickly realized the ship could not possibly be Geth, they didn't possess that kind of technology, and shouted out. "It's not the Geth! Brace for evasive maneuvers!"

The massive ship had some type of energy weapon, and a single shot dropped the Normandy's kinetic barriers, caused multiple hull breaches and took the weapons off-line. The entire ship shook, and the warning klaxons started blaring. Liara scrambled through the ship, trying desperately to locate Shepard as the Normandy burned around her. As multiple explosions rocked the ship and crewmen died around her, Liara finally found the Commander, a picture of controlled calm in the middle of the storm, standing at a console trying to get the fire suppression system on line. Approaching the commander from behind, Liara urgently called her name as she watched Shepard put on her helmet. She immediately followed suit as the commander turned to her and said, "The distress beacon has just been launched." Liara, her voice pitched with anxiety, queried, "You think the Alliance will get here in time?" Somehow, Shepard remained calm, and as she grabbed a fire extinguisher, she gently responded, "Of course they will. I'm not doing this just so they can find our frozen corpses. Get everyone to the escape shuttles."

Shepard's calm control flooded its way into Liara's consciousness, and as her breath started to smooth out, Liara added, "Joker is still in the cockpit. He won't evacuate...I'm not leaving you, either." Shepard snapped around, "Liara! There's no time! I need you to get the crew onto the evac shuttles. I'll take care of Joker." As another explosion rocked the Normandy, Liara hesitated, looking at her lover and spoke her name like a plea, "Shepard..." Samantha turned one last time to the Asari, grabbed her shoulders and turned her, giving her a little shove toward the shuttles. "Liara. Go. Now." Liara glanced back one more time, and steeling her resolve, said "Aye aye," then ran for the shuttles. Now committed to leading the evacuation, Liara moved from one shuttle to the next, urging people in and hitting the launch controls as fast as they could fill them and get the doors closed. When it was apparent no one else was coming, Liara jumped in and secured her restraints, nodding to Karin Chakwas, who punched the eject control. Liara gripped her harness and closed her eyes as the explosive charge blasted them away from the Normandy. _By the Goddess! Please hurry, love. Please hurry._

Shepard worked her way to the cockpit as fast as she could, hearing Joker still on the comm repeating a Mayday call. As Shepard watched the Normandy disintegrating around her, she wondered what the hell he was still doing in the pilot seat; there was nothing left to fly. When she got to the Bridge, Joker still insisted he could save the Normandy. Shepard was out of patience, and grabbed Joker's arm, shouting, "The Normandy's lost! Going down with the ship won't change that!" Against Joker's pained protests, she physically moved him to the Bridge evacuation pod and shoved him through the door as another explosion rocked the ship, throwing her backward and causing a loss of gravity. Shepard clung to the remains of a bulkhead, near the pod ejection controls and realized there was no way she was getting back to the pod in time. She heard Joker shout her name as yet another explosion caused her to lose her grip. She punched the ejection control pad just before the force of the blast roughly tossed her from the Normandy into deep space.

Shepard grunted as she felt her body get slammed against a bulkhead on her way out of the ship. Her N7 training included zero-gravity combat and deep space survival, so she was sure she could survive this, assuming their mystery enemy didn't blast her out of space first. She tried to look around; tried to see if she could find any of the escape shuttles, thinking if her trajectory got her close enough to any of them she could use a magnetic tether to clip on. Being attached to a shuttle would greatly improve her chances of recovery over being a single lone body floating in space, personal recovery beacon or not. It was then that she realized her ejection had blown her toward Alchera, and much to her dismay, she was within the gravitational well and would be pulled into the planet. Just then, she also heard a pressure alarm go off in her helmet, indicating she had a leak in her suit. _Well, Alliance won't be here in time to pull my ass out of the fire this time. _

With the knowledge she was undoubtedly going to die within the next few moments, either through asphyxiation or burning to death during reentry, a surprising calm fell over the commander. She no longer worried about slowing her breathing or using any of the meditation techniques from training to prolong her suit oxygen. She was willing to use it up; she'd rather pass out from lack of air than burn. It seemed a remarkably easy choice. She thought about the rest of the crew on the Normandy and hoped everyone had made it to the shuttles, at least those who weren't already dead. Tears started to run down her face as she thought of Liara. With her decreasing suit pressure, it was starting to get cold, and the moisture fogged the faceplate so she could no longer see the stars twinkling around her. She bumped into something and grappled to hang on to whatever it was, thinking that maybe it would shield her enough that they'd at least be able to find a body to send to her mother...and to give Liara closure. _Oh, my beautiful Blue. I wish I had one more chance to tell you how much I love you. We had so many good times, we should have had so many more...I love you, Blue. Oh how I love you..._ Her thoughts drifted to that night on the Thessian beach and she fell asleep one last time, dreaming of Liara.

* * *

Five hours had passed, and every minute of it had tortured Liara. When the first half hour passed uneventfully, it was actually a relief, because it meant the attack was over and for some reason the enemy had abandoned them instead of killing or capturing them. It did make Liara curious as to the purpose of the attack if that was the case. Her curiosity did not last long, however, before her mind turned back to thoughts of Shepard. _What if she had not made it to the bridge?_ She could be somewhere out there, free floating in the vacuum of space. Liara fully understood the strength of Shepard's will, and if anyone could do it, it would be her. "Goddess, what would that be like?" She hadn't meant to, but she had said that out loud. After a bit of explaining the thought process leading to her remark, Karin had tried to comfort her by telling her about the commander's N7 training, that the suits carried an eight-hour supply of air, and that a well trained operative like the commander had breathing techniques that could stretch that to nine hours, maybe ten if they had no other distractions. Liara did not want to listen. She knew Karin was trying to be helpful, but all it did was make the minutes crawl by, because now instead of blind hope there was an actual time limit on Shepard's life. Every minute that went by without a rescue ship showing up was another minute taken away from Shepard's chance of survival; it was tormenting to endure. Her fists were clenched and her eyes squeezed shut in a vain attempt to not think about Samantha, floating free in space, but it was impossible. She tried to think back to the start of the mission; Liara now looked back on that day with bitterness. Standing there on the Bridge of the Normandy, having Shepard at her side had been blissful alright; they had been nothing but blissfully ignorant! She could not find the self discipline inside herself to redirect her thoughts and she hated herself for her weakness.

As the sixth hour neared, they felt and heard something metallic hit the hull. Liara's head jerked up with realization that someone had made it to them, and she prayed it was the Alliance and not some merc band, pirates or slavers. The evacuation shuttle bumped around, and soon the door popped open. Alliance soldiers helped the crewmen out of the pods and directed them to an information officer at the other end of the shuttle bay. It was the SSV Madrid, a cruiser that belonged with the 63d Scout Flotilla, a part of the 5th Fleet. They had counted ten evacuation shuttles, four had yet to be retrieved, and one Bridge pod that they hadn't gotten to yet. Liara heard a familiar voice ring behind her, "Thank the Goddess! Lady T'Soni!" Liara turned and hugged her commando, Riana, as she asked if she had seen Shepard. Riana saw the desperation in Liara's face and looked down at the floor, "No, Mistress, I have not..." She looked back up, encouragingly, "...but there are more shuttles yet, and the command pod. Surely, Shepard will be in one of them." Liara only prayed she was right. The command pod from the Bridge was the last item retrieved, and Liara hovered eagerly in the shuttle bay, waiting on the door to open. When it did, a very somber looking Joker hobbled out, and when his eyes found Liara's he simply said, "I'm so sorry..."

Liara let out a primal scream and her knees hit the deck. She hunched over as sobs wracked her body so hard she could barely breathe. Riana knelt down beside her and wrapped her strong arms around her in support as Liara continued to sob and mumble, "Goddess, why? Why Sam? No, please, no..."


	2. No Body in Evidence

The SSV Madrid was en route to Arcturus Station in the Sol system when Liara awoke on a cot in the shuttle bay. Karin was immediately at her side and very concerned by what she saw. Liara sat up, but there was nothing in her eyes; her face was totally devoid of emotion, like something inside her had been irreparably broken. As Karin spoke to her, Liara turned and faced her and flatly asked, "Where's Shepard's body?" Karin sat back on her heels; that question did not top the list of those she'd expected. She explained to Liara that once all the shuttles and pods had been collected, the Captain of the Madrid had scanned the local space and had not picked up a single trace of any personal recovery beacons. Because the area was hot, they had retreated to Citadel space, and were currently approaching Arcturus Station. Liara stared at her, the Asari's face going pale as she spoke, "The area was no longer 'hot.' We sat there for six hours of nothing! What if her beacon was damaged? They didn't locate the crash site to see if she was in the wreckage? They just LEFT the hero of the Citadel in a smoking ruin on Alchera?" Her voice continuously climbed in volume and everyone in the shuttle bay heard her last question, "They didn't even CHECK for her?" Karin no longer needed to worry about the Asari not having any emotions; she had zipped right past the denial stage of grief and gone straight to anger. As frightening as the situation was, at least she was expressing emotion. Karin didn't really think the Asari would hurt her, but then Liara suddenly stood, her fists clenched in rage, with blue wisps of power starting to circle around her hands. Riana quickly stepped between them and a simple look her way told Karin that perhaps she should step away for just a few moments.

Liara literally shook with frustration and, clamping her jaw tight, glared at Riana. Riana was very calm as she whispered to Liara, "Mistress, the Alliance Captain is a coward. Calm yourself, we are not without options...and remember these are your friends; they are on your side. They had no say in the Captain's decision. Matter of fact, the Turian almost came to blows and had to be restrained. I have already messaged Judea and she is bringing the transport to Arcturus. She is accompanied by a team of six others, and they are bringing full gear. They will meet us the day after tomorrow at Arcturus Station. We are going back to Alchera, and if she is there, we will find your mate. We will not come home without Shepard. Do you wish to accompany us, or return to Thessia?" The energy faded from Liara's hands and everyone in the shuttle bay breathed a sigh of relief.

Liara's eyes flashed the color of blue steel, her voice a razor's edge, as she looked at Riana and said, "Of course I'm coming with you."

Riana smiled a smile that did not reach her eyes as she answered, "I never believed otherwise, Mistress."

As Riana stepped away, Liara took a few deep breaths and let them out slowly; her eyes unfocused, she saw nothing in front of her until she found a place of calm within all her conflicting emotions. It was not until then that she approached Karin and dipped her head. "I apologize, Karin. It has been...an exceptionally trying day." Her lip quivered as she spoke, but her voice remained quiet and steady. "How is Garrus? I understand he came to Shepard's defense." Karin assured her he was fine, but currently confined within one of the evacuation shuttles. Liara then spoke with the ship's XO, Commander Mitchell, and got permission to see Garrus. Inside the privacy of the shuttle, Liara explained to Garrus her plan, stressing the transport was not the Normandy, and did not have any stealth capability. Garrus immediately volunteered, pointing out that whoever their new enemy was, stealth technology did not seem to matter anyway, so either way, they were potentially going into the mouth of the beast. Liara forced a smile for the Turian. "I knew I could count on you, Garrus. I will also ask Tali, and that will bring our total to ten, plus our pilot. If you would take the position, I would hire you as my Weapons Officer."

Garrus became very curious, and couldn't help but ask, "What kind of private transport requires a Weapons Officer?"

Liara wasn't capable of mirth at that point in time, but made an honest attempt, putting a strained smile on her face before answering, "You'll see soon enough. I don't want to spoil the surprise."

When Liara exited the shuttle, the XO was waiting for her. He attempted to apologize for what had transpired, but Liara cut him off. "I only have one question for you, Commander. Who made the decision to not search for Commander Shepard?"

Mitchell was caught off guard by the question and answered right away without thinking. "The Captain and I decided it was the most prudent course of action, given our exposed position in the Terminus."

"And just who is the current Captain of the Madrid?" Liara cocked an eyebrow marking, while a scowl filled the rest of her face.

The XO was looking puzzled as to what he considered a strange line of questioning, since the Normandy crew had just been scooped from certain death, or worse in the Terminus. "It's a matter of public record that the current commanding officer is Captain Mikhailovich. Why"

Liara, somewhat surprised by that information, had to ask, "And is he any relation to Admiral Mikhailovich?"

The XO was getting frustrated with Liara's accusatory tone, and snapped, "She's a younger cousin. Why do you care?"

Liara now glared at the irritating Commander Mitchell. "Because I want to get the names correct when I file a formal complaint with Admiral Hackett upon our arrival at Arcturus, for your gross negligence and failure to conduct a proper search for possible surviving Systems Alliance personnel. You, however, could slightly improve your position by releasing Garrus Vakarian from his temporary custody. I have spoken to him and he has calmed down considerably. Other than that, Commander, I have nothing else to say to you." With that, Liara turned and walked away.

The XO went to follow and Riana once again stepped in, barring his path. "Sir, you know not to whom you speak. That is Dr Liara T'Soni, head of one of the top ten most influential families on all of Thessia. If you desire to avoid any political fallout in addition to what you have already opened yourself up to, I suggest you leave her to her privacy."

The XO snorted derisively, "And who are you, to say who I can and can't talk to on my own ship?"

Riana gave him a cool appraisal before answering, "I, sir, am Huntress Riana Iregos of the T'Soni House Armali, and personal bodyguard to Lady T'Soni. And I, sir, am someone who is more than willing to create a diplomatic incident should you attempt to approach my Mistress when she does not desire your company."

At that point, the XO pulled himself up and surveyed the entire surviving crew, all staring at him and Riana at this point. "Did you know the Normandy was slotted to come to the 63d, until the damn Council stole it for their own purposes? And now, we just slid into the Terminus Systems to pick your asses up from a pretty damn desperate situation. Bunch of ungrateful prima donnas... the whole lot of ya!" He turned and exited the room, cursing under his breath and shaking his head as he left.

Liara walked among the surviving crew of the Normandy SR1, remembering how Shepard always took the time to check up on her crew. Liara, however, was saying her goodbyes because she had no idea what would happen to them once they got to Arcturus Station. Garrus would be the only one coming with her, and she would miss the rest. She had gotten quite used to seeing them on the Normandy, at their posts or in the mess hall, and had come to trust them all. Tali had already determined it was time for her to get back to the Fleet. She had collected an incredible amount of Geth data, and had been part of the crew that took down Saren and the Reaper Sovereign. She had plenty for a triumphant pilgrimage return to her people, and she missed her family. With Shepard gone, she just couldn't stand the pain of staying. Ashley wished she could take a place on the little private Corvette, but was sure the Alliance would have other plans for her. She extracted an oath from Liara to keep her posted on what was going on in her life, and Ashley promised to touch base with her at every opportunity, especially if she was going to be anywhere near Thessia.

Karin was the hardest to say goodbye to. She had been a kind soul, and always very supportive of Liara and her relationship with Samantha. They had developed a close friendship and Liara actually asked her if she would consider private practice. Karin shook her head. "No, my dear. My life is onboard a ship. If I don't have at least fifty soldiers under my wing on any given day I don't feel useful. I appreciate the offer, though, and if you ever need anything, you call me. And I do mean anything." Karin hung her head before she continued. "God, I'm going to miss that woman. She was like a niece to me. She was funny and could be infuriating at the same time, but I can't think of another Commander I'd rather serve under. You keep me updated on anything you turn up. You find her and you bring her home! She doesn't deserve to be abandoned on some uninhabited rock in the Terminus. Promise me?" Karin ended with a sigh and looked up at Liara as she asked her question. The tears threatening in the Asari's eyes were almost enough to make them both start crying. Instead they fell together, hugged and just gave each other comfort until they heard the chime announcing their arrival at Arcturus. They separated, and as Liara stood, she vowed that Karin would know everything she discovered. Liara picked up the only loose item she had left to her, her helmet, and left the SSV Madrid, confident that Garrus and Riana followed her. Not once did she look back.

Liara walked straight to Admiral Hackett's office, and when the group was put off by the Admiral's military assistant, Liara just stepped back and made a call on her omnitool, direct to the Admiral. Admiral Hackett answered rather promptly, "Dr T'Soni. I don't know what to say. I assume you are now on Arcturus Station?" She told him that yes, they were on Arcturus, and she was presently standing in his waiting room. Less than ten seconds later, the door to Admiral Hackett's office opened and he invited them in.

Liara and Garrus both told the story of the attack, the complete ineffectiveness of the stealth systems, the strength of the energy weapon, and then of the truncated search for Commander Shepard. Liara finished by having Riana replay her omnitool recording of the XO's comments in regards to the reallocation of the Normandy. "Sir, I feel the search may have been prematurely ended because of a professional grudge held by Captain Mikhailovich against Commander Shepard and the Normandy. Their official report will say they departed because the zone was hot, but I'll tell you, we sat in our evac shuttles for over five hours with no hostile action. We were not destroyed, killed, tortured or captured by pirates or mercs, because there were none." Hackett was shocked to say the least, and urged her to go on. Liara continued, "My personal opinion is that it was professional jealousy because she thought the Normandy should have been hers. The only other two options I see are gross incompetence or extreme cowardice. Either way, it matters not to me, do what you will with the information. What's done is done, and now I start damage control. I will provide you a professional courtesy because Commander Shepard thought so highly of you."

At this point, Liara's voice started to crack, but she pressed on, "I am returning to Alchera as soon as my personal transport arrives. Please, do not tell me not to go, because you have no jurisdiction over me, and I AM going. I am taking a private transport, with a personal crew, back to Alchera to see what we can find. If nothing else I want to find evidence of whom or what it was that attacked us. My personal theory is that is has something to do with the Reapers or with Reaper agents. We have no evidence that points to Matriarch Benezia and Saren being the only two. Matter of fact, I would highly doubt such a thing. Anyway, Shepard trusted you, and I trust her judgment implicitly. Because of that, I will contact you personally if I find out anything significant." Liara stood firm as her eyes heated and threatened tears, but she blinked them away and did not let them fall.

Admiral Hackett rose from his chair and thanked them for the information and escorted them out of his office. As they departed, he commented, "If there was one thing the Commander was exceptional at, it was inspiring loyalty within her crew. I believe she may have inspired a bit more than that this time. Fair winds and following seas, Dr T'Soni. I wish you well in your hunt." As Liara walked away, she noted yet one more Human idiom she would need to research. She hoped maybe it would distract her, at least for a little while.

* * *

The trip to Alchera was extraordinarily long. Not by normal time standards, but because of the torturous emotions that plagued her. Liara could not lay down her head without dreaming of Shepard. The dreams themselves were always brief, but wonderful; it was when she was in that period between sleep and wakefulness, when she reached for Samantha to find the other side of the bed empty; the jarring realization that snapped her back to the cold reality of a galaxy without Commander Shepard at her side. She dwelled in those moments, and found herself painfully wanting closure. Some way to end the ache that resided in her soul. With that thought, she rose to start the day. They were at Alchera, and perhaps the answers she was seeking resided on the surface. Alchera was a miserable planet with alternating light and dark cycles that lasted roughly thirty galactic hours each; fortunately it was currently light over the Normandy crash site. It was a barren, snow-covered mass of irregular terrain, covered in chasms and steep cliffs, very difficult to navigate except within the isolated plateaus that dotted the surface. Its atmosphere was a deadly mix of methane and ammonia and it was cold; twenty-two degrees Celsius below zero cold. Liara couldn't think of many planets that were naturally less hospitable than this one.

It was a somber group that climbed into the shuttle, and Garrus had thought to bring a few expandable packing crates on the assumption there would be something worth salvaging. He and Riana flanked Liara as the shuttle settled into the snow and the door opened, revealing the wreckage. Liara was actually shocked by how many large pieces of the fuselage had survived entry though the atmosphere. It must have had something to do with the low gravity and low atmospheric pressure, as well as the low temperatures. They must have all combined to generate less reentry heat, to create less friction burn as the ship came down. Whatever the cause, she was relieved everyone came; they had a lot to search, so they split into three groups and got busy. Liara was torn; she personally wanted to see two separate locations and couldn't decide where to go first. Shepard was last seen in the cockpit, so that was an obvious search zone, plus Liara wanted to see if there was any recoverable sensor data that could give them information on the attacking vessel. Liara also wanted to go to the tail section where their quarters had been; she hoped to come away from here with some memento, some keepsake to hold onto. She decided to go there first, because she was afraid if they found Shepard's body in the cockpit, she would be unable to function after that.

The tail section, including the sleeper pods, was remarkably intact. Liara saw what she thought were storage bins and when she opened them, she realized they were from Shepard's closet. She opened a few of them and eventually found Shepard's hooded N7 sweatshirt... It was strange how such a simple thing could evoke such a visceral reaction, but her vision suddenly swam and she had to kneel down to keep from falling. She felt a firm grip on her elbow, steadying her as she dropped to a knee. _Goddess, it's just a damn sweatshirt...but it reminds me of the first time Samantha actually put together the words 'I love you.'_ Liara flashed back to when Shepard had pulled out those sweats for her to borrow...and everything else that came along with 'staying for breakfast' as Shepard had put it. _Give me strength, Samantha. I do miss you so!_ Taking a deep breath, she slowly stood back up and patted Garrus' hand as a show of silent thanks, not trusting her voice. She balled up the sweatshirt and held it close to her tightening chest, suppressed sobs making it a bit hard to breathe. Opening a few more crates, she found some of Shepard's books, and even though they were in a language Liara would never read, Shepard had loved them, so she couldn't leave them behind. She asked Garrus to go get one of the packing crates he had so thoughtfully brought along, and he did so without question. All the books and the N7 hoodie went in, and Garrus took them to the shuttle for her. The one thing she had hoped to find but did not was Samantha's journal. She thought Shepard would have appreciated knowing it was safe and not in some stranger's hands.

One of the commando teams had found the armory storage lockers, some of which were intact. The commander's locker had been destroyed, much to Liara's dismay. She wanted to give Garrus the sniper rifle as a keepsake, but it was not to be. They also found Liara's locker and, though it was slightly damaged, they were able to recover her Stiletto pistol. She was glad to have it; even though it was not the original one gifted by her mother, it had been personally modified by Shepard. Garrus picked through his and Tali's lockers and pulled out everything useful, though it wasn't much. They also found a few intact crates of battle rations; Liara actually let loose a quiet, sad laugh at that. As horrible tasting a staple as they were, it seemed even the destruction of the Normandy couldn't rid them of those things. Of all the things to recover, battle rats were pretty low on the list. They did find some dextro rations for Garrus though, which was good, because the commandos hadn't known Garrus was coming, so they augmented their relatively limited stock. Other than that, the commandos had turned up some tools and other miscellaneous useful items, but nothing significant. Liara sighed; it was time. Taking a deep breath in a useless attempt to calm her nerves, she headed toward the large cockpit section of the Normandy, dreading what she may or may not find.

As Liara walked up through the control center towards the Bridge, she was surprised. Given Joker's description of their last moments on the Normandy, she expected there to be much more damage. Her steps slowed and her hands started to shake, and the closer she got to where the Bridge pod use to be, the more ragged her breath became. She smelled the smoke and felt the heat from the fires she had experienced that day while desperately searching for her commander. Her painful reverie was interrupted when Garrus asked, "Liara? Are you alright?"

Liara didn't realize she had stopped dead in her tracks, seemingly unable to approach the point where Shepard sacrificed herself to save Joker's life. A sob escaped her throat before she could catch it, and her hand smacked into her faceplate as she inadvertently reached to place a hand over her mouth, forgetting she had her helmet on. She hung her head and blushed in embarrassment, glad no one could see her face at that moment. "Y-yes, Garrus. I...I'm fine. Thank you," she stammered. "It's all just a bit...overwhelming, I fear." With that, she steeled her resolve and force her feet to start moving again, pressing ever closer to the point of no return.

She finally passed the hole left by the pod ejection port and stepped onto the Bridge proper. Her mind played through the scenario Joker gave her. She stared at the pilot's chair and imagined Shepard grabbing his arm and physically dragging him from it, opening the pod and forcing Joker in. Her head rocked with the explosion that pushed her love back to the bulkhead. Liara stared at the emergency launch button on the wall and it just didn't seem so far away from the pod entrance as to be such an impossible obstacle to overcome. _By the Goddess, Samantha! Why couldn't you cross that distance? How could you not get yourself into that damn pod?_ Joker had said there was an additional explosion, forcing the commander away... Liara turned around and saw the gaping hole that must have been where Shepard had been ejected from the Normandy. With trembling hands, she traced the torn metal hull and cried. For the first time since the primal scream ripped from her throat right after the attack, Liara cried. She cried for her lost love, for the future they wouldn't have, for the void left in her soul that she felt she would never again be able to fill.

Liara had no idea how much time had passed before she felt the presence at her side. She knew she had exhausted her tears some time ago, but she still hadn't moved from that spot, having no idea where to look next. Shepard had been ejected from the Normandy. Her body would not be found on the Bridge. It was time to look elsewhere. _But where?_ As she turned, she remembered that someone had approached her and as she raised her eyes, she saw Riana. "Mistress. When you are ready, the team has found something you need to see." _Did they have Samantha's body?_ Liara couldn't speak the question out loud, not only because her throat was raw from crying in the dry air of the suit, but also because she feared what they had found. She couldn't bring herself to ask the question to which she did not want to hear the answer. There was only one thing on this journey that she would 'need' to see. Even without Liara giving voice to the question, Riana read it in her eyes. "I cannot explain. You must see it and draw your own conclusions, Dr T'Soni." With that, Riana held out her hand and, taking it, Liara let herself be led to the team's discovery.

At first, Liara did not understand what she was looking at. They were on a small rock shelf, not terribly far from the cockpit, and there were fragments of armor and a helmet. A complete, intact, N7 helmet, with little damage other than some scorch marks. _Samantha's helmet. _ The armor was nearly destroyed, missing large sections, melted and burned, but still recognizable. _But the helmet... the damn helmet is still intact! All of her gear is right here! Everything she was wearing is right here! Where is her body?_ Her grief changed in a flash to smoldering anger. Liara's head snapped up and her eyes zeroed in on Riana with an intensity that made even a huntress flinch. "Where the hell is Shepard?" she shouted.

Liara's brain went into overdrive. Someone had already been here. In the five days it took them to get to Arcturus, wait on the transport to arrive and get back here again, someone had peeled off Shepard's armor and they had taken her. Had they taken her alive or dead? Had it all been an elaborate ruse, a trap? Would someone have risked killing the commander just to hide or fake a kidnapping? Had the crew of the Madrid been in on it? Was that the reason behind their premature departure? None of it made sense...too many questions and no answers. Dr T'Soni was an archeologist. She knew how to dig. She knew how to find answers. She looked around at her team, and she was focused. She once more had purpose and she wasn't going to let anyone or anything get in the way. She knew what she wanted, she'd let the commandos figure out how to get it done. "I want every piece of electronic data to be found here. Every image, every audio file, every scanner recording. If it's digital, I want it collected...I also want the armor, the helmet, and every piece of Shepard's personal gear you can find. I don't care how long it takes."

The commandos jumped into action, hustling back to the shuttle to grab data disks, power cells, and the remaining packing crates. With an aching heart, Liara finally knelt down by the armor and started picking up pieces, turning them over in her hands. Something metallic caught her eye, mostly buried in the snow. She dug in with her fingertips and found an edge, prying the object up out of the snow. Her brain finally recognized what it was and her hand froze, hovering over the item momentarily before stroking it softly. She realized it was a silver chain. _The chain with Samantha's dog tags! _Liara gently pulled them out of the packed snow, careful to not break the chain or bend either of the little oval plates attached to it. Once freed, she tenderly brushed the snow off the face of one and looked at what she held in her hand. _Samantha H. Shepard, Lieutenant Commander - N7, SN5923-AC-2826, Blood Type: B Neg. _She had her keepsake; one she could wear around her neck so a little bit of Shepard would always ride on her chest and be pressed against her heart. _By the Goddess, I swear those responsible for this will pay. They will rue the day they ever learned the name Shepard._

Liara helped pack up the armor, then helped secure all the data they could find. Once they got power cells connected, downloading all the logs was easy, seeing as both Liara and Garrus had the system access codes; it wasn't like they had to hack in to anything. Garrus went back through the quarters, armory, and lockers, hoping to collect any personal items of the surviving crew members he thought they might like back. They ended up making a second trip with the shuttle to drop one load off and pick up more packing crates. By the time they were done, the ship's storage compartment was full, and they had to floor load some of the crates in the equipment bay.

Once back on board and dressed in something other than her hardsuit, Liara went to talk to Judea. She wanted to fill her in on what they had learned and just talk for a bit; she didn't want any of the crew feeling left out. She thought to herself...it was a very 'Shepard' thing to do, and she found her hand pressing against her science suit, following the outline of the dog tags beneath the surface. Before she went to get some rest, she gave Judea a task. "I have decided on the name and colors for the ship. Shepard became partial to the blue and white combinations of my work outfits. So, the colors will be blue and silver; I'll leave you to choose the specific pattern. The name shall be Aletheia; it comes from Human mythology. Aletheia is the Greek goddess of truth."

Judea nodded in approval and with a light smile said, "Shepard would be pleased, Liara. I assume we are headed back to Thessia?"

Liara agreed, with a very quick stop again at Arcturus. She had some crates to drop off for the crew and critical information to pass to Hackett that she did not trust to open channels. "Judea, I also need you to check into some communications equipment for the Aletheia. It will be more efficient for future operations if we have secure comm capability." Judea did not verbally respond, but nodded in acknowledgement as she worked on calculating and inputting the course to Arcturus.

Liara had just returned to her cabin when there was a light knock on the door. She called out that it was open, and Garrus stuck his head in. "Hey Liara. Got a minute?"

Liara's face had a slight shadow of a smile as she responded, "Of course, Garrus. Please, come in."

Her Turian friend came in and sat down. "Ya know, this is one hell of a ship." Garrus paused for a moment, and Liara just raised her brow markings waiting for more. "I've been thinking about your offer as a Weapons Officer, and I honestly don't see it. Don't get me wrong, the weapons packed onto this baby are awesome, and they're a Turian design that I know like the back of my hand, so you know I can make 'em sing. But, you and I both know it's not a full time job, so what's the real deal?"

Liara smirked. "I wondered how long it was going to take you to get around to asking that question. Garrus...I am out of my depth here. I'm a researcher, a data collector, which is fine right now, but eventually I'll need a tactician, a military advisor. Commandos are great for small clandestine operations, but I have no idea what we're headed into. You and I both know if it involves the Reapers or Reaper agents, or even a large merc group, I'm going to need something more. You're that something more. You were Shepard's XO. You know tactics and military operations. I trust you, and I need you. Will you stay?"

Now it was Garrus' turn to smirk. "I had a feeling it was something like that, and the answer is absolutely yes. I just needed to make sure you didn't think I was a charity case because I had no place else to go without the Normandy." He chuckled at the expression of indignation on Liara's face.

"Garrus! I would never..." Liara paused for a moment, squinting her eyes. "Wait. You're joking, aren't you?" She continued as Garrus started to laugh. "Agh. It's no wonder you and Shepard got along so well. And Garrus? I'm very glad you're staying. The commandos are nice, but it's great to have a good friend to stand by my side. I hope you know how much that means to me."

Garrus looked at her, nodding his head up and down. "That I do, T'Soni, and I wouldn't want to be standing anywhere else through this. We're going to bring her home, one way or the other. Oh, and by the way, when we find her, you might want to give her this..." Much to Liara's surprise, Garrus held out Samantha's journal. "...I found it under some crap out in the snow...when I went back for that second look." Liara had no response to that, other than to jump up and hug Garrus tight, thanking him profusely. The Turian chuckled. "Alright, alright...you're going to ruin my tough guy image. I'm gonna go get some rest. You should do the same, Liara. See you tomorrow."

After Garrus left the room, Liara recalled Admiral Anderson's words... "_Shepard's done the impossible so many times, I'm not giving up on her until I find a body_." With that, she started a list of the most immediate questions. They had a starting point, and she and Garrus were going to follow this trail to its end, no matter where it may lead.


	3. Missed Opportunities

**Omega** - One week before the destruction of the Normandy

Aria T'Loak. Pirate Queen of the lawless Terminus Systems. Aria ruled with an iron fist; with a reputation for ruthless ambition, she was an Asari to be respected and feared for both her personal strengths and the extreme loyalty of her men. Nothing happened on Omega that Aria either didn't at least know about or if not directly cause, and a mercenary band of the Blue Suns had conducted business that Aria hadn't sanctioned. Initial reports indicated it was a slave sale that involved a significant amount of credits...and Aria didn't get her cut, so she and two Batarian bodyguards made their way down to the site of the sale to correct the deficiency. Her primary agent, Bray, commented the men were able to handle the job, but Aria had insisted on attending to the matter personally. She gave Bray a glare and growled at him, "This is my station and I know when something's not right. Too many credits moving... this is bigger than you realize."

As the trio approached the site, Aria's eyes narrowed in anger when she realized it wasn't just Blue Suns selling slaves; they were selling Humans to the Collectors. The Collectors were all around bad for business, well known for taking odd samplings of various races, their purposes never revealed, and the fate of those taken a total mystery. They resided somewhere beyond the Omega-4 Relay, and were bad enough that their mere presence made even the unsavory characters who frequented Omega nervous. All attempts to discover more about the Collectors by traveling through the relay had ended in failure; Aria didn't like what she couldn't control, and the Collectors certainly fell in that category. They had to learn that Omega was not someplace they were allowed to do business, especially when they tried to bypass her 'taxes.'

Looking back at her bodyguards, she pulled up her biotics as she snarled, "Nobody leaves alive!" Aria promptly jumped into the fight, capitalizing on her commando training and her extremely strong biotic capabilities. Using one hand to launch a warp at the negotiating Collector at the front of the pack and pulling out her heavy pistol with the other, she launched the attack with the two Batarians immediately pulling weapons and joining her in combat. The Blue Suns and Collectors were caught completely off guard and the skirmish didn't last long, with Aria soon standing triumphant over a couple of still living Blue Suns. "Bray!" Pulling her agent to the side, she whispered quietly to him, "Find out everything they know...then kill them. Report to me as soon as it's done."

With a quick nod, Bray collected the prisoners and they vanished quietly into the bowels of the Omega mines. Less than twenty four hours later, Bray handed Aria a data pad with Human population totals for a number of colonies, as well as for the Citadel, Earth and Omega proper. Aria's brow creased in angry contemplation; she realized the Collectors were certainly after more than just a few slaves, and humanity had somehow made a very dangerous enemy. Any war in the Terminus would be bad for business, especially if it directly involved Omega, but throw the Collectors into the mix and it would be very bad. The whole concept was unacceptable, but Aria had no idea what to do about it...yet.

* * *

**Armada System, Omega Nebula** - Day of destruction

The team of Salarian Special Tactics Group operatives watched the Blue Suns cruiser put itself into orbit around Alchera; the STG team had been tracking this particular mercenary band for roughly four days and had yet to determine their mission. The cruiser had been planet hopping to some unknown end, always in the Omega Nebula but not staying near any particular planet for long. The Salarians' best guess at this point was they were conducting illegal mining surveys for Aria T'Loak on Omega, but that didn't fit the Pirate Queen's profile. Aria was ruthless; she would wait for some young company to set up operations and then take it from them...she did not waste credits or time on doing the surveys and setting up operations herself. She let someone else spend their credits to do it and then steal it out from under them, either through some back room deal or by force. She wasn't particular to either method, as long as it got her what she wanted in the end.

The STG crew sprang into action when the proximity alarms in their stealth surveillance ship started flashing. The young team chief, Lieutenant Eshelo Vasin, was amazed as the sleek form of the SSV Normandy crossed their bow. He immediately started speaking in the terse phrasing so typical o f Salarians. "Ahh, of course. Alliance investigating missing vessels from this area. Surprised they would squander Normandy on such a mission that is most likely just pirates. Complete waste of Commander Shepard's skills. Still, too close for comfort for two stealth ships to almost collide. Both stealth systems working optimally, would not have known of presence if not so close as to see them directly out the front viewport." Vasin watched the Normandy set into a search pattern and was content to monitor developments when their long range scanners picked up an unidentified cruiser headed their direction. The lieutenant was puzzled as to why such a remote, unforgiving piece of space now inexplicably had four separate ships apparently orbiting the same planet. "Something not right. Do not believe in coincidence. VI, start secure recording of all sensor data; duration undetermined."

Vasin was horrified as the mysterious cruiser suddenly changed trajectory and attacked the Normandy without provocation. As the scene played out in front of them, the captain noted the ejection of the distress beacon and starting giving commands. "Excellent. Beacon deployed, Alliance will send aid. No action required. No need to reveal position. Navigator Jarells, set course for relay. VI, note stealth systems ineffective against new unknown threat. Terminate monitoring upon relay activation and prepare to transmit all data via secure communications net to Captain Kirrahe at earliest availability." _Needs to see this!_

* * *

**Armali** - Five weeks after the destruction of the Normandy

It had been four weeks since Liara's return to Thessia and three weeks of commando teams searching and making discrete inquiries about operations and ongoing trades happening in the Omega Nebula. Three weeks of asking questions that attracted attention from the wrong kinds of people; unless you were looking for those wrong kinds of people, and Liara was doing exactly that. It was with some urgency that Liara breezed into the study to find Garrus sitting in front of a large window, discussing sniping strategy with one of the commandos. "No, no, no! There are much better strategies for minimizing windage errors over longer distances..." Garrus paused and looked up as Liara entered the room. "Oh, hey Liara. What's up?"

Liara had a very determined expression on her face as she spoke, "We need a small team to go to Omega. I've contacted an information trader with a lead on some Blue Suns that just happened to visit Alchera the very day the Normandy went down. I'm going with you, to meet with the information trader, and we need to leave as soon as possible. It's our first real lead. If they have information on Shepard, I don't want them slipping our net."

Garrus looked at her and spoke after a moment of contemplation. "How reliable is the data?"

Liara's eyes sparked with confidence, "Absolutely irrefutable. It came from an STG team via Capt Kirrahe."

Garrus stood up and started moving. "Kirrahe? Well then. I'll get right on it. Get yourself packed, T'Soni. I've had the team working rapid response drills. We can leave within the hour."

During transit, they came up with a plan; Liara and Riana would go in together, while Garrus and one of the huntresses trained in infiltration, Sellis Boni, would follow in trail to provide back-up. Omega was a dangerous place, a notable 'den of iniquity,' and they needed to make sure they had their eyes and ears open and all the angles covered. They planned a routine mission, but were sure to leave room for contingencies; everyone involved knew that nothing on Omega was ever routine.

* * *

**Omega** - Five weeks after the destruction of the Normandy

Liara T'Soni stepped off her ship onto Omega, just another Asari maiden looking for fun and adventure in the semi-lawless land of Omega. She and Riana slowly meandered to Afterlife, where there was an incredibly long line to get in. Riana had been here before, so Liara followed the instructions the commando had laid out during the journey. She skipped the line, and sauntered right to the front, looking derisively at the bouncer when he did not allow her to enter. Using her best voice of privilege she asked, "Certainly the head of house T'Soni is not going to wait in that line. Not if you expect my patronage."

After a quick call inside, the bouncer let her through, stating, "Aria says she wants to see you dance. Best not keep her waiting."

Liara waved her hand dismissively and laughed, "I'm not here to make credits dancing... I'm here to spend them." Despite her brash statement, Liara and Riana still went by the Queen's nest; it was not in one's best interest to ignore a summoning by the Queen of Omega. Aria's booth was above the dance floor, centered against the back wall with a commanding view of almost the entire main floor of Afterlife. Liara approached Aria with the respect due a Matriarch, but fire in her eyes as she spoke. "Greetings, Aria. I understand you wished to speak with me before I partake in the...pleasantries...your establishment offers?"

Aria eyed the pair, showing little emotion. "Liara T'Soni. Spending your mother's credits? And here I thought you were the studious professor, preferring to root around in the dirt, not in a sex den like Afterlife."

Liara laughed lightly. "Oh, I am spending my credits, if you haven't heard. My mother sided with that traitorous Turian and paid for it with her life. I am now House T'Soni. And yes, I am funding digs with those credits, but even the best of us like to enjoy some recreation once in a while...some semblance of civilization."

Aria fixed Liara with an icy glare. "Don't give me that shit, T'Soni. You're not the type. Besides. I have many eyes and ears. I control most of the Terminus System, and I own Omega. Nothing goes on without me knowing about it. You being here has something to do with the shit that went down at Alchera. My guess is you're hunting. I don't care what you do; just don't fuck with any of my businesses. You do that, I'll end you. Plain and simple. Understood?"

Liara cocked her head a bit to the side and put on her best smirk. "Why, Aria. I am sure I have no idea what you are talking about, but I have no intention of interfering with your business. In fact, I intend to do quite the opposite. I intend to spend lots of credits here, enjoying certain... services." Liara tossed a sizeable credit chit at Aria. "This should be sufficient to purchase at least some level of privacy for my 'vacation' here. It's been a pleasure, Aria."

The Pirate Queen watched with keen interest as Liara turned and headed to the bar on the lower level. She turned to her Batarian agent standing off to the side. "Bray. Find out what she's looking for. Preferably before she finds it." Bray nodded and disappeared, activating his omnitool and contacting his 'Eyes on Omega' network on the way out the door. It wasn't long before Bray realized there were many more players on Omega than Aria would be happy with, and he intended to find out why.

* * *

Liara and Riana sat at the lower bar and chatted about everything but Commander Shepard. Eventually, a Drell named Feron came up to the couple and identified himself as Liara's contact. He was ready to talk, but not at the bar. "Too many people listening," he said.

Liara and Riana followed him out and down a back corridor, being very careful to ensure Garrus and Sellis noted their departure and were following. They did not know Feron other than by name, and Drell were a reptilian species with dense muscle tissue, making them extremely fast and strong; many were trained as assassins or protectors, so Liara had no intention of underestimating the information trader. Finally, the Drell stopped and turned to speak to them, "Shepard is not alive. Her body in a stasis pod..." Before he got any further, a small group of Blue Suns rolled quickly around the corner, weapons drawn and ready to fire. Liara and Riana quickly pulled up their biotics and prepared for a fight as a large Krogan stepped forward from the merc group.

"Only if you want to die where you're standing, Dr T'Soni." Holding them at gunpoint, the large Krogan started speaking. "The only reason you're not already dead is because the Broker is curious about why you are so eager to find a corpse."

Liara glared at the Krogan and answered but also asked a question of her own. "She is important to me. What's the Broker want with her?"

The Krogan laughed "She WAS important to you. She's dead. And the Broker's business is his own. Who his clients are is not your concern. Besides, you are in no position to be asking questions." Just then a rifle shot ripped through the Krogan's left eye and all hell broke loose. _Thank you, Garrus!_ Liara and Riana both lit up with biotics and finished off the Krogan with a lift and warp combo creating quite the explosion, killing a couple of the other mercs as well. Liara was initially surprised by the amount of gunfire produced by the conflict, but soon it was clear exactly where all the fire support came from. As the last Blue Sun fell, Liara, Riana and Feron suddenly found themselves surrounded by a large squad of Cerberus troops. Even with Garrus and Sellis' assistance, they wouldn't survive a battle against a full squad, so Liara holstered her pistol and let her biotics trickle off her fingertips, Riana quickly following suit.

A woman speaking with an Australian accent approached them. "Dr T'Soni, I am Miranda Lawson, and as you have undoubtedly concluded, I work for Cerberus. We have a common goal, you and I. We both want Commander Shepard back. We both know she is the only person in the galaxy capable of stopping the Reapers."

Liara looked at Miranda like she was crazy, a mix of anger and grief in her eyes as she choked out her next words. "Shepard's dead, Ms Lawson. I just want to bring her home."

Miranda looked at Feron, and then back to Liara. "Is that what the Drell told you? Shepard is not dead, though neither is she alive. She is in stasis, and we can rebuild her and bring her back."

"Th-that's not likely. That can't be possible, can it?" Liara's heart leapt in her chest at the possibility, even as her mind told her it was insanity.

"Before I tell you anything else or answer any questions, my boss wants to speak to you." Miranda held up her omnitool, and a holographic projection of a man appeared. "Hello, Dr T'Soni. It's very nice to meet you. I've read your papers on the Reapers. Even though you referred to them only as 'sentient machines' and failed to mention them by name, the concept is correct and it's still fine work. More people need to listen to you, before it's too late."

Liara was flabbergasted. She had no idea who this man was, but he knew about her research on the extinction of the Protheans and gave credence to her Reaper theories that were largely disregarded as juvenile delusions among the academic circles. "Who are you?" she asked.

"Who I am is not important. Most simply refer to me as the Illusive Man, and I lead Cerberus. What IS important is what I can do for you, and for the galaxy. Miranda should have already informed you about our plans to resurrect the commander. We call it Project Lazarus. Bodies can be rebuilt, Dr T'Soni; with a single sample of uncompromised DNA, cloning and cybernetic enhancements, the body can be replaced. We need Shepard; assuming her brain is intact and hasn't become damaged due to her prolonged exposure to space, there is a very good chance she can live again. The Blue Suns were on Alchera when the Normandy went down. They immediately recovered her and put her into a stasis pod to halt any degeneration, and she has remained there since. We need you and Feron to retrieve that pod for us. The Blue Suns are in the process of delivering it to the Shadow Broker, who has plans to sell her to the Collectors. We simply cannot let that happen. I understand this is a lot to take in, Doctor. Do you have any questions?"

Mention of the Collectors shocked them all; that was bad news indeed. If Shepard made it into the hands of the Collectors, she would never be seen again, that much was a given. Liara's mind was reeling. _Goddess, is it possible? Could I possibly get Samantha back? Can I risk NOT doing it? It's a chance! A chance I have to take! _She looked at the holograph, still not truly believing. "Why me? You have all of Cerberus at your command, so why me?"

The Illusive Man responded, "That's very simple, Doctor. We would be shot out of the sky before we could even get close. For some reason though, the Broker has identified an interest in you; you are an enigma, and may actually be able to get to him. But mostly, we picked you because you were already looking, and nothing beats someone with a personal motive driving them. Unless I am mistaken, you have very strong personal motivations, Dr T'Soni. Please feel free to contradict me if I am mistaken. Otherwise, if there's nothing else, I leave you in Miranda's very capable hands. I do hope you agree to work with us. Good day, Doctor."

With that, the hologram faded and Miranda dropped her omnitool. She stood there for a few moments, waiting for Liara to speak. When she did not, Miranda's blue eyes flashed with impatience. "Well? I haven't got all day. If you're not going to do it, I need to get other plans in motion."

Liara's thoughts were confusion incarnate; so much had been revealed in the last hour, she was struggling to form a coherent assessment of the new circumstances. Liara suddenly wheeled on Feron, her biotics flaring, "Why did you let me believe she was dead? Did you know the Collectors were involved?"

Feron held his hands up defensively, "I had no idea! I needed the money and picked up a last-minute job from the Broker. All it entailed was to distract you; to stall you until the transaction was complete. No way I would've done it if I had known the deal was with the Collectors! I swear it!"

Liara was furious and was ready to kill Feron on the spot when Miranda stepped in. "Wait! He's a Broker agent...he can get us onto the Broker base. Where is the exchange supposed to take place, Drell?"

Feron looked pitiful. "I don't know. It was a last minute job and I didn't need to know, so no one told me. I can't reveal information I don't have. But Shepard is still here though. They haven't moved her yet."

Liara closed her eyes, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. When she opened her eyes again, they were steel blue. "There is only one thing to do. Goddess. Of all people. We have to ask Aria."

In all the confusion, no one saw Bray slip out of the shadows and hustle down the corridor.

* * *

Garrus pulled Liara to the side and spoke with her privately on their way to Afterlife. "You can't do this! I understand taking her from the Blue Suns and the collectors, but you absolutely cannot give Shepard's body to Cerberus!"

"What choice do we have, Garrus?" Liara felt trapped. "They have the potential to bring her back! You have to know I'd give anything for that!"

Garrus adamantly shook his head. "Even if you have to sell your soul? Sell Shepard's soul? Think about this before you can't undo it! By the Spirits, Liara! They've done horrible things, conducted horrendous experiments...they killed her father just to steal some antimatter!" Garrus paused for a moment before continuing. "Besides that, without seeing her, how can they even promise anything? It's not possible! What they bring back won't be Commander Shepard; it would be a clone at best, the technology doesn't exist for anything else! I'll help you, but only if you swear it's to give her a proper warrior's funeral...that you won't turn her body over to those terrorists!"

Liara's eyes flashed in anger. "You think I'm not asking myself all those questions, Garrus? I dream about her every night! I wake up thinking about what I'd give to have her back...just to have her alive again! Since the minute I realized she wasn't on the Madrid when I woke up. I left her behind...she told me to go, and I did! Goddess, against my better judgment, against every instinct I possess... I left her!" Liara was crying as she finished. "I would give my life and swap places with her without a second thought, but I can't...but I can do this! I can give her a chance. And I trust her, Garrus. If they truly bring back Samantha Shepard, she will do what's right. And I'll pray she can find it in her heart and soul to forgive me, but I'll live with the consequences if she can't. At least she'll be alive to make the choice." Liara looked at Garrus, her eyes pleading for understanding that did not come. "I'm sorry, but I have to take that chance! It's all I have left! Please stand with me on this..."

Garrus stared at the Asari for a long moment before coming to a resolution. "I'm sorry too, Liara. I won't try to stop you, but I can't help you, either. I'll head back to the ship and collect my stuff. I...won't be going back to Thessia with you."

Tears continued to run down Liara's face as she watched Garrus turn away from her. She pled one more time, "Garrus, please! We need you...I need you!"

Garrus paused briefly, but did not look back at her before he resumed walking away. "Not like this, you don't."

Liara took a deep ragged breath and wiped her tears away as she watched Garrus disappear around a distant corner. She turned back toward Afterlife and resumed her walk; each step hardened her resolve to complete the task at hand and bring Commander Shepard back to the galaxy of the living. By the time Liara approached Afterlife, there was no casual saunter of a maiden on vacation. Liara strode with purpose. Feron, with his shorter legs, sometimes had to jog to keep up. As Liara steamrolled up to the door this time, the bouncer just looked at her with somewhat of a surprised look and waived her through. Liara made a beeline to Aria's loft, and it was obvious Aria was expecting her. With a smug expression on her face, Aria drawled, "Ah, Dr T'Soni. Back so soon?"

Liara was very impatient. "Aria, I'm sure you know why I'm here. The Blue Suns are about to make a very high credit transaction. I need to know where on Omega it's happening."

Aria was not to be pushed. "Ah, yes. You know, after you left I sent Bray out to do a bit of investigating. He found some very interesting things. Cerberus? Blue Suns and a stasis pod?..."

Liara cut her off. "Aria! I don't have time for your games. They are selling Shepard to the Collectors!"

Aria suddenly rose off her couch and extended to her full height; her eyes narrowed and drilled into the Asari before her. Though not much physically larger than Liara, the Matriarch's powerful presence was still overwhelming with the anger that poured off her in waves, a hint of biotics causing faint blue tendrils of power to overflow off her fingertips. Suddenly, Liara was very frightened. Aria was not only known for her cool demeanor, her logical unemotional approach to business, but also for a propensity to solve problems with violence...and the Queen of Omega was definitely angry. A very uncharacteristic look of absolute loathing rippled across Aria's face and Liara thought she was dead. Apparently, one did not interrupt the Pirate Queen and live to tell about it. Liara inadvertently took a step back, and bumped into Riana.

Aria shot forward with two quick steps, placing herself within an arm's reach of Liara. "Collectors? They are selling her to the Collectors?"

Liara was trying to remember how to breathe when she suddenly felt Riana's strong hand on her back, providing support, and that was all she needed to break Aria's spell. _Goddess, what was I thinking? _"Yes, the Collectors. And I aim to stop it. Do you know where it's happening? Please, Aria." Liara's voice was pleading, but hopeful.

"Fucking Collectors again... Bray! What did you find?" Aria turned her angry gaze to the Batarian, and he was very glad he had an answer.

"The Blue Suns have set up a transfer station down at Mine Dock 2." Bray glanced from Aria to Liara as he spoke. "Seems the most likely place."

Aria scowled in return. "You'd better be right... Take them there the fastest way you know how." Looking to Liara again, she resumed speaking, "T'Soni. You'd better stop them. If you don't, I promise you, I will hunt you to the ends of the galaxy. There will be no place you can hide."

As soon as Bray left with Liara, Aria called her fleet captain to blockade the relay; she wasn't one to leave things to chance and in the event T'Soni failed, Aria would still ensure the Collectors never left the Omega Nebula alive. Settling back on her couch, Aria pursed her lips in thought; this was an opportunity to test T'Soni's resolve and solo capabilities and Aria looked forward to the results. Dr T'Soni and Spectre Shepard had been an up and coming power couple and Councilor Tevos had been impressed with their work against Sovereign and Saren. The apparent death of the Spectre had troubled Tevos greatly, but something was going on that Aria couldn't quite put her finger on; damn Tevos and her secrets. Still, never one to waste resources, if the young Asari succeeded, Aria would do what she could to cultivate some form of a business relationship with the new leader of house T'Soni. If she failed...well, Aria's threat didn't carry the teeth her normal threats did; Tevos would frown upon her eliminating the leader of such an influential Asari family, so all Aria would be able to do was make her life difficult, not kill her... Aria smirked at the thought. _I can be very good at making things difficult_.

* * *

By the time they got to the mine, Liara feared they were too late. A ship was already docked, and there was a large group of Blue Suns, but no stasis pod in sight. Bray immediately slipped off to the side, having no intention of participating in the fight, and promptly pulled out a special pistol with a magnetic tracking device. Sticking to the shadows, he circled around the side, shot the ship and verified a solid transmission signal before moving to a location where he could observe the coming attractions. He checked his network reports and confirmed the team had located the Drell's ship and had tagged that as well, along with the Aletheia shuttle; nobody was going anywhere without Bray being able to tell Aria where they were headed.

Liara realized they must have already loaded the pod and watched as a Salarian exited the ship to talk to one of the mercs. Feron froze and whispered to Liara, "That's Tazzik! He is the Shadow Broker's top enforcer! There's no way we're going to get to that ship! Not with all those Blue Suns and Tazzik there!"

Liara glared at him. "Shepard is right there! We are too close to stop now! We have to get her back!"

Feron insisted, "There's too many of them. Maybe we can use one of the old defense cannons to disable the ship to keep them from leaving with the body. Then we can pick them off slowly, and not have to rush them, four against all of them!" Liara was still undecided, but was swayed by Riana when the huntress agreed with Feron's plan. Feron melted into the shadows and quickly reappeared at one the defense cannons along the right side of the docking bay. Unfortunately, the cannons hadn't been used or calibrated in a long while, and his shot went wide, blowing up some cargo beside the ship instead and prompting everyone to action. The mercs immediately sought out the enemy and started firing, and Liara flared her biotics, throwing a singularity into the middle of the merc pack. Riana quickly followed with a warp, taking a number of the Blue Suns down. Tazzik calmly stepped forward, pointed his weapon toward the two Asari, and pulled the trigger. Riana yelled, "Grenade!" as Feron dove across and tackled Liara out of its path. After the explosion, the trio all stood up, chagrined to see Tazzik's ship leaving Omega, with Shepard's body on board. Liara cursed under her breath. _Damn Garrus! Had he stuck around, Tazzik would have been dead before he ever got that grenade launcher up to fire and this would be over! _ Liara was jerked out of her contemplation by Feron speaking.

Surprising for the quiet Drell, Feron practically shouted, "We've got to go! We can still cut this off. There is only one Broker base in the sector. He has to be headed for Alingon! My ship has the docking protocols... I can get us in."

* * *

**Notes: **As a side note, I've started writing "Quick Shots" as little gap fillers and additional background pieces to add a bit more depth and history to the characters. The first few are pre-ME1 that give a bit of Shepard's beginnings; later they'll be pieces that expand on the story that didn't make it into final versions of the chapters... hope you enjoy! They'll be posted on Mondays, where main story line will continue to be posted on Fridays.


	4. The Gates of Hell

**Graphic violence warning...if you don't want to read it, stop when you get to Aria T'Loak and her tunnels... and skip to the next chapter. Those who do read...I know different folks define "graphic" differently, so I'm curious as to if you think this deserves the graphic violence warning or not. Please advise. Appreciate the feedback.**

* * *

Ch 4: The Gates of Hell

Aria growled at Bray, "What do you mean, they got away?"

Bray was used to the attitude and shrugged casually as he responded, "There was a Salarian. The Drell called him Tazzik; apparently a Shadow Broker enforcer. He stepped off the transport with a grenade launcher and caused a bit of a ruckus. By the time the dust settled, he and the Collector were on board and the ship was leaving the station."

Aria rose off her couch and took a step toward Bray and the Batarian raised his hands in a blocking motion. "Settle down. I placed a tracker on the ship as soon as we found it, so we know where it is and can guess where it's headed. Plus, the Drell had a ship that we are also tracking, and before they left he said he had the docking protocols and could get them to the Broker base. It's on Alingon and once they arrive, we'll have the exact coordinates. This isn't over yet."

Aria paced and thought about her options. "Damn it, Bray! I already have the fleet blockading the relay just in case this happened, but I had hoped for better results from you. Nothing, and I mean nothing, leaves this sector until we know for sure the Collectors do not have Shepard's body." Aria spun on Bray as she finished, "And then, you're going to blow the base on Alingon to hell or die trying. This is my domain. No one, not even the Shadow Broker, fucks with Omega."

Bray canted his head to the side, contemplating, and then responded simply, "Don't blame me for the results, I was never meant to be part of the fight. The lack of 'results' is on T'Soni, but as far as Alingon goes, you got it, Aria. And what about the Blue Suns?"

Aria flashed a feral grin. "Oh...I think perhaps they are due a change of leadership. Don't worry about that now. I'll take care of that...personally." She turned on her heal and returned to her couch, sitting leisurely and stretching her arms out to her sides across the back rest. Her eyes narrowed menacingly as she spoke, "Yes, I'll take pleasure in handling that task myself."

* * *

True to his word, Feron got the little ship onto the base; when they bypassed the outer defenses, the tension in the little ship dropped considerably. Against Riana's vocal disagreement, Liara decided the huntress would stay onboard and secure the ship, while Liara would pose as Feron's prisoner to get them to the Shadow Broker's data center. Feron was convinced the Broker would want to see the Asari in person, so after fitting Liara with a fake slave collar, they headed directly to the communications room, where a shadowy holo figure hovered in the center of the room. As they approached the doorway, Feron hesitated and looked at Liara. With a quick nod from her, he clipped the leash on her collar and dragged her toward the console. "Shadow Broker, I have brought you a gift."

A voice spoke, obviously scrambled to conceal the Broker's true identity. "Ah, Dr T'Soni. We finally meet. I must say, your interference has caused my agents no small amount of difficulty. You are very persistent. Too bad we are opponents instead of allies. I wonder why you are so adamant to pursue a corpse."

Liara's job was to keep the Broker distracted and talking while Feron logged into the system and found any and all available information pertaining to Shepard and the Collectors. Feron was pleasantly surprised; none of the data files had any type of user restrictions or security protocols, so accessing the Collector information was very easy. Unsure how long it would take and how much information was available, Liara just had to keep the Broker busy long enough for Feron to finish his download. She spoke slow and deliberate, pausing wherever she could for effect. "Shepard has many friends, and... we want her body returned. We simply cannot accept for her to just...disappear. That is not how... civilized... cultures deal with death."

The Broker chuckled. "I find that amusing, Dr T'Soni. Your blatant inference that I am not civilized. That could not be farther from the truth. I am merely a business man."

"What good business could it possibly be to sell a human corpse to something like the Collectors? The Collectors are a bane to our very existence!" Liara could not help but let her hatred shine through the tone of her words.

"The Commander is dead either way. Why should it matter to you? Let us just say, the Collectors gave me an offer I couldn't afford to pass up. You realize the extent of their technological lead on the rest of the galaxy, do you not? It would be negligent for someone in my position to not take advantage of that."

Liara almost spit her next words, "Sometimes a price is too high! Have you no conscience that you would sell the galaxy's future for a technology trinket that will do you no good when the Reapers come?"

At this point, Feron had downloaded all the data he needed, and signaled Liara by tugging on her leash and growling, "Watch your tone, slave!"

In accordance with their plan, Liara pulled on her biotics and completely destroyed the communications center in front of her. The Broker wouldn't be talking to anyone on this base for the near future. Feron moved to Liara and handed her the data disk as he unclipped the leash. He spoke quickly, "Liara, I know you still don't trust me, so I give the data to you in a hope you can believe that I would never have worked for the Collectors. I have nothing else but my word and my actions to prove this to you."

Liara looked at the data disk in her hand, then up at Feron. "I am not yet ready to forgive you... maybe after we get Shepard back. Where are we headed?"

Feron answered promptly. "The transaction is taking place at the docking bay of the base's north port. It's not far from here."

As they approached their destination they could hear Tazzik speaking, and as they entered they saw what they assumed to be a Collector. Liara breathed a sigh of relief as she realized the negotiations had not yet been completed, so the pod was still somewhere onboard. Feron grabbed Liara by the back of her collar and propelled her across the floor by the scruff of her neck, clipping the back of her legs and throwing her down to her hands and knees as they approached the Salarian. "Down, slave!" Feron then rolled his gaze to the enforcer, his voice level and controlled as he spoke, "Tazzik... Good to see my little diversion gave you time to get out of there. That grenade was awesome. It allowed me to eliminate the bodyguard and it stunned the little princess here enough that I was able to subdue her. The marvels of modern medicine...not very dangerous after I injected her with a biotic blocker and put a shock collar on her."

As Liara sat on the floor, breathing heavily, she surreptitiously surveyed the room. She did not see the pod, so assumed it was still on Tazzik's ship. She also assumed the being who Tazzik was speaking with was the Collector currently negotiating the trade. They had stopped speaking as soon as they saw Liara and Feron enter the room and Tazzik eyed the two newcomers suspiciously as he asked Feron, "Why have you come here?"

Feron laughed, "Oh, the Krogan on Omega told me the Broker was interested in the good Doctor and had some questions for her, but he's done with her. He gave her to me as a bonus, told me I could do whatever I wanted with her...as long as she was 'punished appropriately,' and ended up dead at the end." Feron leered lecherously, "I figured I'd keep her a while for some... entertainment... first. Without her biotics, she really is quite harmless. She'll learn her place soon enough."

Tazzik scowled in disgust. "That does not answer my question, Drell. Why are you HERE?"

Feron suddenly looked surprised, "Oh, right! Sorry...the Broker is having trouble with the station comms and wanted me to pass on that with all the trouble this deal has caused him, he wants all the money up front now, instead of half now, half later."

Tazzik tried to contact the Broker for confirmation, and realized communications really were down; all he got was static. Still, it felt odd that the Broker would send that message through the relatively newly hired Drell and not a more trusted station agent; he would have contacted Tazzik more directly, somehow. Just then the Collector spoke and reinforced his suspicions, "The Drell is lying. He is a traitor!"

This time, Liara was ready and waiting; as Tazzik started to raise his weapon, Liara slapped him with a stasis field, freezing him in place. Both she and Feron bolted for Tazzik's ship, not realizing the Collector was also armed. As the Collector pulled his weapon and fired, Feron and Liara ducked behind some crates. Feron looked at Liara and said, "Go! Take the ship! I will hold them here and give you a chance. It is the last thing in my power to give you, to make up for what I have done!"

Liara looked at Feron, not truly believing he was willing to sacrifice himself, but she had to gamble and took him at his word. Throwing a last warp at the Collector, Liara turned and ran into the ship; she punched the door locking control as soon as the hatch closed. She took a quick glance at the stasis pod, but did not waste any time getting to the cockpit. The arrogance of the Shadow Broker and his agents astounded the Asari; Tazzik also had no type of user restrictions or security on his ship controls, so it was easy for Liara to fire up the engines and make good her escape. As she departed Alingon, she signaled Riana to rendezvous at the Aletheia and Sellis to take the shuttle to Thessia; then she wondered if she would ever see the Drell again.

Once clear of the station, Liara entered the coordinates of the rendezvous point and instructed the VI to provide a ten-minute-out call. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then released it very slowly. She stood from the pilot's chair and slowly made her way to the side of the pod, her hands rested gently on the lid and she closed her eyes as she concentrated on trying to keep her body from trembling. Liara slowly steeled herself to open the pod. She told herself she would have to be quick. Open it, look, close, and reseal the pod as fast as she possibly could, but she had to verify the pod actually contained Shepard. Goddess help them if somehow there had been a miscommunication or deception and she had just stolen the wrong pod; the very thought terrified her.

The pod vented as she typed in the release commands; Liara's heart felt like it was ready to explode from her chest and her breath caught in her throat. She opened the lid and gasped at the sight of Shepard inside; she quickly closed the lid and reactivated the stasis before her legs gave out and she fell to her knees, finding it difficult to catch her breath. Based on the condition of the armor they had found on Alchera, she expected it to be bad, but nothing had prepared her for what she saw in that pod. Shepard's head, neck and upper left torso seemed relatively intact, but beyond that her body was utter ruin. The rest of her torso was nothing but charred remains, and her right arm was completely gone below the elbow, her right leg missing and left leg gone below the knee. Though Liara had only let herself look for an instant before resealing the pod, the image was permanently burned into her memory.

As the initial shock wore off, her body began to tremble uncontrollably and Liara heaved the entire contents of her stomach onto the deck. She slowly crawled over to some benches along the side wall and used them to support herself as she stood shakily to her feet. She forced herself to focus on the image of Shepard's head and took a few slow, steadying breaths; the Illusive Man had said if the brain was intact she could live again...so Liara thought about what she had seen. Shepard's face was darkened, as if she had been severely beaten and bruised, but not burned; her hair was singed on the edges but still the wonderful splash of Auburn in an otherwise black and white picture. Her helmet served its purpose and protected her head, so there was a good chance she could live again; Liara had to focus on that and deliver the pod as promised to the Cerberus rendezvous coordinates. She found her way to the bathroom on the little ship and rinsed her mouth before splashing water over her entire face to cool the heat and reduce the lingering clammy feeling from having thrown up. She went and cleaned the deck before returning to the bathroom to wash up and place a cold wet cloth on the back of her neck. When she heard the ten minute call, she toweled off her face and hands and made her way back to the pilot's chair.

* * *

While huntress Sellis was already on her way back to Thessia with the shuttle; both Feron's and Tazzik's ships floated in space next to the Aletheia. Liara directed Riana to dock Feron's ship first and once it was in the Aletheia's hangar, Judea performed a standard security sweep and notified Liara that it contained a tracking device. Liara directed the tracking device be removed and then instructed one of the commandos to take Feron's ship back to Thessia and park it in dry-dock storage until Liara could determine the Drell's fate. Once the commando was out of the hangar and on her way, Liara landed Tazzik's ship and directed Judea to pilot the Aletheia to the prearranged coordinates provided to them by Miranda Lawson, removing any tracking devices along the way.

Liara was hoping their destination would be Lazarus Station; she really wanted to know where Cerberus would attempt the impossible, but it was not to be. The coordinates turned out to be some backwater mining colony with a breathable atmosphere, where they could easily transfer the stasis pod between ships. Not knowing where they would be taking Shepard, Liara questioned her decision and reconsidered Garrus' arguments, but still seeing no other options, she and Riana grudgingly took the pod to the surface for the exchange. They downloaded the pod and Liara stood next to it, both hands firmly on the lid, once again her heart debating with her intellect over the decision she knew she had to make.

Miranda showed little compassion. "Dr T'Soni. I realize this is difficult, but you know it has to be done. You can take her home and bury her, or you can give her to us and we can do our best. Every delay lessens our chance of success."

Liara refused to let go just yet, still wanting some answers, some form of reassurance, "And what if your best isn't good enough? What will you do with her? Can you promise me you'll give her back to me, to give her a proper burial? Can you?"

Miranda rolled her eyes impatiently, "You know that's not possible, Doctor. The only way you will ever see Commander Shepard again is in living, breathing flesh and blood. I know we can do this. I just don't know how long it will take. It depends largely on her condition when we actually open the pod, and we're wasting time here."

"You know she hates Cerberus, don't you?" Liara made direct eye contact with Operative Lawson as she said, "Cerberus was responsible for the death of her father. She will never work for you."

Miranda shook her head. "Oh yes, we are aware of everything in her history. But she will work for us, Dr T'Soni. The Illusive Man can be very persuasive. And Commander Shepard has always been one to put duty first. She will see the necessity, and she will see our resources, and she will see that working with us is the only chance she has of stopping the Collectors and the Reapers. So yes, she will work for us. I guarantee it."

Liara's eyes flashed angrily at the thought of Cerberus manipulating Shepard into doing something that would tear her apart from the inside out. But she also realized the truth behind Miranda's words, and hated herself for it because she had no other options open. Reluctantly, she closed her eyes and stepped back from the stasis pod, praying to the Goddess that this was not the last thing she ever saw of Commander Samantha Shepard. She opened her eyes and looked at Lawson. "You take care of her, and if at all possible, I would like to know of your success..." Liara choked on her next words, "...or your failure."

Miranda waved to some technicians waiting in the background, and they moved forward to take the pod. As they hauled it to the Cerberus shuttle, Miranda gave one more qualifier to the transaction. "Not going to happen, Doctor. You'll just have to wait to see if we are successful. You will not be contacted again... and do not attempt to find Project Lazarus. You don't want to know the consequences if the project should somehow become...compromised, shall we say? This is your one and only warning. I don't make a habit of repeating myself."

Having just done Cerberus' dirty work and turned over the commander's body, Liara stood incredulous at Lawson's threat. Miranda simply turned and joined the stasis pod in the shuttle. As the door closed and the shuttle departed, Liara glared at it until it vanished from view; her omnitool beeped and indicated the tracer she had placed on the pod had been disabled...Liara was not in the least bit surprised, but knowing it was coming did nothing to soothe her anger.

Her mind and heart torn by a myriad of emotions, Liara turned to Riana, fuming. "Once this is over, if I ever see that woman again the Goddess herself won't be able to save her!"

Directing Riana back into the ship, Liara punched the door secure panel then turned to her companion, her eyes still simmered with anger but her voice was gentle. "Riana. Take us back to the Aletheia, please, then home to Thessia."

Liara sat alone in her cabin on the Aletheia. She had asked to be left undisturbed for the entire journey, and Riana stood outside her door to make sure her desires were followed. Liara sat on her bed and tried to focus on the various pictures she had of Shepard, looking for inspiration, but the pictures were impossible to see through the tears that streamed down her face. She truly wondered how Shepard kept going through all those missions while pursuing Saren. How did she keep feelings of hopelessness from becoming overwhelming? Even facing seemingly insurmountable odds, she somehow kept going and got the mission done. Liara needed to find that strength to continue and to honor Shepard's memory by not giving up. She squeezed her eyes tight against the stinging salt of her tears and her hand grasped the dog tags hanging around her neck until the metal edge dug painfully into her palm.

Her tears eventually stopped and by internalizing her pain, Liara's face slowly became an image of grim resolution. She would start by finding the Shadow Broker and figuring out what befell Feron; the Broker would rue the day he ever agreed to help the Collectors, and Shepard and Feron would both be avenged. How anyone could place shortsighted greed over the long-term survival of the entire galaxy was so contrary to Liara's thought process, she couldn't begin to understand it. All the sacrifice in the war against Sovereign would be for naught if the Collectors and the Reapers succeeded; Liara was furious that a figure as powerful as the Shadow Broker was unable see that! While she collected every piece of data she could to avenge the attack on the Normandy and continued her research into the Reapers, she also needed to figure out some way to stay apprised on Shepard's status; she would either hack into their information network or somehow make the Illusive Man give her updates. There had to be something the Illusive Man needed that Liara would be able to find and provide in trade for the information. He had needed her once, she would somehow make him need her again so she could stay connected to Shepard; Liara could not survive another nine centuries with a heart that would turn to stone without her bondmate...she vowed to either see Shepard again in this life or join her quickly in the next.

* * *

It had been a year of hard work, and Miranda was finally starting to see real progress. There was still a lot to do, but she now knew that unless something drastic happened, Shepard was going to make it. She went by the lab to make one final check on Shepard for the night; one can never be too cautious. Lazarus had become her sole project, one that she spent every waking hour on. If she wasn't actually in the room, she was doing research on advanced cybernetics developments, or more importantly, nanite research. The self replicating nanites were Miranda's crowning achievement; they would give the commander an amazing healing rate. In an odd sort of way, Miranda was looking forward to the first time Shepard got seriously injured, to see just how fast she'd be able to heal and get back into the fight.

As Miranda walked into Shepard's room, she glanced at the status monitors, just as she always did, only this time there was something wrong and she drew her assistant's attention to it. Wilson glanced up from his terminal and calmly said, "She's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing awareness of her surroundings." Miranda moved urgently to the bedside.

Wilson seemed to pick up on Operative Lawson's concern and his voice rose a bit in panic, "My God, Miranda! I think she's waking up!"

Miranda was not pleased and made it very plain by her tone of voice. "Damn it, Wilson! She's not ready yet! Give her the sedative...Now!"

Miranda was much more soothing as she looked down. Shepard could see the fuzzy shapes of Wilson and Lawson floating over her bed, and her breathing was fast and labored. She tried to reach out to Miranda, who captured her hand and gently pushed it back down to the bed. "Shepard...don't try to move. Just lie still and try to stay calm."

Shepard needed her attention; she just wanted to know where Liara was. _Why isn't she here? Did everyone on the Normandy make it?_

Shepard focused on Miranda, but she could hear Wilson mumbling in the background. "Heart rate still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts." Miranda moved out of her range of vision as Wilson kept speaking. "Stats pushing into the red zone. It's not working!"

Shepard looked around and found Miranda again, just in time to see her shove Wilson toward the machines regulating her medication. Miranda was urgent in her request, "Another dose. Now!"

Wilson seemed to hesitate, and then finally pushed the dispenser, calling out the progress report to Miranda. "Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back into normal range. That was too close. We almost lost her."

As he finished, the words started to sound garbled, and Shepard's vision started to blur. She saw Miranda lean over her, concerned. The concern was replaced by irritation as Miranda looked at Wilson and spoke harshly. "I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again." The sedative finally worked and Shepard's world disappeared once again, her questions unanswered.

* * *

Aria T'Loak loved her tunnels; they let her travel pretty much anywhere on her station completely undetected. She trusted very few people with the knowledge they even existed, and even fewer still with the codes to actually get into them. Bray was one of the few, and he was the only one to accompany her on this vendetta mission. The Blue Suns leader, a Batarian named Galim, had made three gross errors in judgment; the first two unforgiveable, the last resulting in his death sentence. The first was when he decided to work with the Shadow Broker and the Collectors; the second was when he decided to do so without telling Aria and paying the appropriate transaction taxes. The third was when he made the assumption that when everything went to hell he didn't need to leave the station. He thought staying in his secure room at the heart of Blue Suns territory was safe. The Queen of Omega clenched her fists. _He thought wrong._

What she really wanted to do was storm the office and tear him apart with her biotics in a good old fashioned knockdown, drag out fight, but that would cost the lives of a lot of her loyal warriors and throw off the balance of power among the gangs on the station by depleting the strength of the Blue Suns. She didn't want one Batarian's bad decision to cause an all-out gang war on Omega; she just wanted to send a clear message that no one was above her reach and power; on Omega you played by Aria's rules or you didn't play at all. So, much to her chagrin, she and Bray opted to use the tunnels and emerge undetected, right in Galim's personal conference room, for a more...personal approach. Aria tapped a quick code into her omnitool and all the surveillance cameras in the sector went down. Bray stepped around the corner and shot Galim with a shock dart, causing the Batarian to collapse onto the floor in convulsions. The effects only lasted about ten seconds, but it was sufficient time for Aria to walk over, gag him, and pin him upright against the wall in a stasis field.

Bray moved to the main office door to ensure it was locked as Galim recovered his faculties. His eyes widened in panic when he recognized Aria and he screamed into his gag. When he realized the volume would be completely insufficient to attract assistance, he attempted to beg for his life. Aria curled her lips in disgust. "What makes you think I have any interest in your pathetic mewling?" She reached over and pulled Galim's own knife out of his sheath before unclipping his upper body armor plates and pulling them out of the stasis field. As she placed them against the wall next to him, she grinned. "How do you think your men will react, when they didn't hear a peep and yet find you skinned alive in here when they finally come to check on you?"

Galim's eyes widened again and he doubled his efforts at begging, especially when Aria set the knife point to his chest. "Oh, don't worry. I don't really intend to fillet you. That would be too...messy. I don't want to get blood on my clothes." She slowly dragged the blade around to his side. "I know you have a ribcage... but I also know if I go low enough it will slip right under the last rib... like this!"

Galim's body jerked with the force of Aria's thrust and he screamed uselessly in pain, no one able to hear him through the gag, and completely unable to defend himself with Aria meticulously maintaining the stasis field. She wiggled the knife around a little, to antagonize her victim and to stir his insides in the most painful way she knew how. She then dragged it out and switched it to her other hand, preparing to thrust it in again on the other side. "I've heard gut wounds are very painful...and a very slow death. That's very good from my perspective. Gives you lots of time to contemplate what you've done. I'm sure you already regret your decisions, but it's too late for me to care."

The second time she stabbed Galim, on the opposite side of his body, she pushed it in slowly, making sure he felt every centimeter independently, wiggling it a bit every couple of seconds as it bit deeper and deeper, working up the fifteen centimeter blade until she reached the hilt. Galim's eyes were starting to roll with pain as she continued. "You know, I only have one rule...and everyone tells me it's easier that way. Yet, every once in a while, someone seems to forget it and I need to make an example."

Aria stirred his insides from the other side, and then suddenly ripped the knife out quickly and unzipped Galim's shirt. She poked him in the stomach a few times with her fingers, watching as he sweat and his face contorted in pain. "Sorry. Does that hurt a teensy bit? Now for the real lesson. The one everyone will see and understand."

Slowly, using his own knife against him, Aria slowly carved the symbol for Omega into Galim's bare chest, first the complete 'O' and then the vertical line from the center of the 'O' down to Galim's bellybutton. She put the knife on the desk, then used his blood to write the words 'Only One Rule' on his desk, and wiped her finger off on his shirttails. She reached up and gripped his throat as she spoke, "One rule. Just one. Don't. Fuck. With. Aria. Is that so hard?"

Galim was attempting to shake his head as he started to choke under Aria's grip. Her eyes went black with a forced meld that Galim was in no condition to stop. "Oh, rule breakers don't get off so easy. I'm not choking you to death...I'm simply making you uncomfortable while I rip your mind apart one layer at a time, steal your secrets, find your hidden caches, and learn everything I want to learn as I slowly destroy your mind."

Aria ransacked Galim's memories and discovered his greatest fears, turning his own nightmares against him, planting visions in his mind. Galim died screaming into the gag, all four of his eyes wide open in stark, frenzied terror. Aria snorted in contempt, "Yes, you really can die of fear, can't you?"

Aria removed the gag and the shock dart, then picked up Galim's knife and buried it to the hilt in the center of the Omega symbol on his chest. Calling Bray over, she released the stasis field and they stretched him out on the floor spread-eagle in front of his desk, facing the doorway. Bray unlocked the office door, and he and Aria disappeared through the hidden entrance to the tunnels, no one the wiser. A few omnitool taps later and the surveillance system came back online, the picture feed from Galim's office causing shockwaves of fear to run through the ranks of the Blue Suns. Galim's second, another Batarian named Tarak, was the only one truly happy with the recent development.


	5. To Hell and Back

It wasn't long after their return to Thessia when Liara figured out that to make her goals a reality, she needed to be closer to the action. They took the time necessary to sort through and collate all the objects and data they collected on Alchera, and once the analysis was complete Liara established her best course of action. She needed a lot more information and she realized she wouldn't find it sitting on Thessia. She had to establish a front for her investigations and she came to the conclusion that she needed to launch an information brokerage; her destination was clear...Illium. The classic garden world had been purposely developed to be the gateway between the Asari Republics and the Terminus Systems, and as such, her mother had purchased an apartment and office space there. It was a natural next step, so Liara relocated and took up residence in the apartment. She brought Riana and Judea with her, along with a team of commandos from the country estate, and set up shop in her mother's old offices above the trading floor. Liara initially enjoyed the work, with daily operations providing an excellent distraction from reality as she worked incredibly long hours and she had no time to reminisce. She quickly established a reputation for paying well for the right type of information and her brokerage rapidly took off.

Unfortunately, promises of good pay also brought the liars and cheats who assumed they could get away with large sums of credits without delivering on their promises to a new, inexperienced broker. During the first few months of operations, there were four instances when coercion and threats just wouldn't bring a fraud to heal; Liara was forced to make examples of them, and she had learned one lesson very well from Shepard...never send your troops to do something you wouldn't do yourself. So, while the commando team either completed the snatch or set the trap, Liara forced herself to be present for the end, if not deliver the lesson personally; she would let no one else take responsibility for such actions. She was after the Shadow Broker and could not afford to appear soft, she killed people purely out of the necessity to establish a reputation in a cutthroat world and she felt like she lost a piece of her soul every time.

In the office, Liara was the ever elegant Asari; beautiful, sexy, and she purposely dressed in traditional Asari gowns designed to perfectly accent every curve and attribute of her striking figure. In the field she was a much darker persona. She had a set of midnight blue commando leathers that helped her blend into the night and she wore a matching leather duster jacket that hung down below her knees. It carried an amazing assortment of weapons hanging on inside clasps and pouches, and concealed an extremely robust shield generator that had surprised more than one Shadow Broker bounty hunter who thought they would have an easy score with the young maiden. After a year of failed attempts, she learned through the network that her bounty had risen significantly; apparently the Shadow Broker had a difficult time finding mercenaries willing to take the risk.

Her brokerage continued to do well; she was making good money and finding little tidbits here and there, each little piece bringing her minutely closer to her true goal of locating the Shadow Broker. She likened it to her Prothean research; it wasn't a matter of searching through data that was available, there simply wasn't any. It was more along the lines of figuring out what wasn't there. Progress was slow, but looking for patterns in the gaps was her specialty, and after almost a year she finally had the names of the four remaining Blue Suns who performed the job on Alchera. She placed a call to her guard captain at the country estate, Captain Lyria Tremi, and explained what she had found, ending simply with a cool statement seemingly devoid of guilt, "I want every scrap of information they have and then I want them... eliminated."

Lyria had come to respect Shepard in the short time she had visited Thessia with Liara, and was more than happy to take on the task, responding, "Those mercs worked with the Shadow Broker and by association, the Collectors. They did not do it out of some form of misplaced idealism; they did it strictly for profit, at Shepard's and your expense, Mistress. I assure you, they will not go unpunished."

* * *

Once again, Liara arrived at her apartment after hours, after another long day of research and information trading, but mostly because it was the day for the clean-up operation on Omega. She stayed in the office long enough to get the mission report from Captain Tremi, and it was worth the wait. She received a plethora of new leads to chase down and Lyria reported that all four Blue Suns targets had been eliminated, with evidence planted to direct guilt at a rival gang, the Eclipse. Some of the 'evidence' had already been discovered before the commandos even left Omega and a gang war had flared up, guaranteeing that any evidence of the real assassins would be long destroyed before anyone thought to look. Liara sat back with a small sigh of relief; the last thing she wanted was to give Aria T'Loak a reason to be angry with her. It was small consolation, but at least she could say that on the one year anniversary of turning Shepard's body over to Cerberus, the last of the Blue Suns involved in the attempted body snatch were dead.

Liara slipped out of her gown and she sighed sadly as she threw on a pair of sweat pants and the N7 sweatshirt she had recovered from the crash site. It had been too long and the hoodie no longer had the smell of leather and musk; no longer smelled like Shepard. Liara went in to the bedroom and laid down on the bed that was not their bed and hugged a pillow that did not have any lingering scents of Shepard. She clasped the dog tags still hanging around her neck and thought of the past year. What did she have to show for it? A few dead thieves who tried to take advantage of her, at least eight dead attempted assassins, all of the Blue Suns who were part of the Alchera incident, and one lost Turian friend. She hadn't heard from Garrus since he left her on Omega. She had attempted to contact him twice and he did not respond to her messages; on her third attempt she got an error saying the contact did not exist. She could not even locate him through her network and she prayed to the Goddess that he was alright. She thought about their parting conversation... _Have I sold my soul, like Garrus feared? _She thought of her and Shepard's arrival on Thessia and her lover's vow to support her, whatever her choices and where ever her path may lead. She wondered if Shepard would still feel that way knowing her path had led to darkness. _I am the bringer of death. _As the weight of her actions dragged her down, she cried herself into an exhausted sleep just like she had almost every night for the last year.

* * *

Shepard stormed into Liara's office and pointed an accusatory finger. "I can't believe you gave me to Cerberus!" Liara could see the anger in Shepard's face, the rigidity in her stance. It was unforgiving. "Cerberus, Liara! Why? Were you really so desperate that you would turn me into everything I hate?"

Liara cried, "Goddess! They weren't supposed to tell you! I wanted to tell you myself, to explain my actions!"

Shepard drew herself up and crossed her arms over her chest, a barrier between them. "I'm here now. Explain it to me. Explain how you could do this. For God's sake...they killed my father, Liara, and you abandoned me to them!"

Liara closed the gap quickly, reaching for her lover. "I just couldn't let you go! They gave me a chance to get you back and I had to take it... and it worked! You are alive and you are here!"

Shepard put a stiff arm out, halting Liara's advance and grimaced. "Yeah, I'm here, but at what cost, Liara? I'm not free! I'm a Cerberus puppet and a traitor to the Alliance! I have no home anymore." Shepard suddenly looked very sad and Liara's heart was breaking as the conflicting emotions running across her lover's face ripped her apart from the inside out. "You could have at least come with me. You could have been there when I woke up. You were my home, Blue; my respite in the chaos. But you deserted me and turned me into a terrorist. Why were you not there? Why were you not with me?" Shepard's eyes were pleading, looking for explanations but finding none.

"Goddess, Samantha! That was never my intention! They wouldn't let me! Please, we'll figure this out! You don't have to stay with Cerberus!"

Liara was chilled to the bone when Shepard responded with a bitter laugh. "You recall our conversation with Saren, Liara? Death before dishonor?"

Though Liara did not remember Shepard even moving, the commander was suddenly standing with a pistol pointed up at her own chin; the blood in Liara's veins froze at the sight. Tears streaming down her face, Liara begged, "Please, Samantha, do not do this!"

Shepard looked at her one time love, her pale green eyes the color of Thessia's frozen north seas. "I won't work for the enemy, Liara. Take your comfort from the days before...when I knew you still loved me." Liara drew her biotics in a hurried attempt to place Samantha in stasis, to take the pistol from her hand, but she was too slow. At the sound of the gunshot Liara slammed her eyes closed and screamed.

Liara felt pain. _Did Samantha turn the gun at the last moment and shoot me instead?_ Liara immediately felt guilty for letting such a thought even cross her mind. _Samantha would never..._ Yet someone was shaking her by her neck and calling her name. Liara forced her eyes open to see what was happening and instead of Shepard before her, it was Riana. She was in her bedroom and Riana was calling her name, with a hand drawn back ready to place a second strike across her cheek. Liara's eyes widened in realization and she started to sob uncontrollably, falling forward into Riana's arms. _By the Goddess! It was only a dream... a nightmare!_ In the past, Liara's dreams of Shepard had always been sweet and only the waking to reality was bitter. Obviously, her guilt had finally taken control and for the first time since Liara had turned the commander's body over to Cerberus, the hope of getting Samantha Shepard back had turned to the despair of possible rejection because of all she had done. She was no longer sure Shepard could love who Liara had become.

Riana had bolted out of bed at the sound of a blood-curdling scream. Grabbing her pistol and hunting knife from the nightstand, she ran as fast as she was able to the source of the sound, looking for the midnight attacker. What she saw was a young maiden in the throes of a nightmare. She raced to the bedside, calling to her mistress and getting no response. Riana gripped her shoulders and pulled her to a sitting position, shaking her hard. Still getting no response, Riana wadded up the front of Liara's hoodie in her fist, freeing her other hand to slap Liara across the face, hard, while calling her name. She had readied her hand for a second blow when Liara's eyes opened wide in surprise and the maiden lunged forward, sobbing. Riana caught her and held her tight; as the young leader of house T'Soni wept forlornly in her arms, the huntress had absolutely no idea how to help her. Eventually exhaustion overtook Liara and once she fell back to sleep, Riana slipped out to the communications room. While still early on Illium, it was midday on Thessia and Riana initiated the only solution she was able to think of while Liara had wept in her arms for nearly two hours; she called House Armali and spoke to Captain Axoni and Matriarch Mozia.

* * *

Matriarchs Aethyta, Tevos and Mozia sat quietly on the couches in the Councilor's office on the Citadel. It had been a long discussion, but they thought they finally had a plan. The Consort, Sha'ira, had been a friend and confidant of Benezia and a mentor to Liara when she was in her third and forth decades. For the short term, they would get Sha'ira to visit the young Asari on Illium. For the longer term, they would insert Matriarch Aethyta into a position somewhere on Illium where she would be able to keep closer tabs on her daughter. She had initially been made aware of the relationship between Liara and the commander just before the Normandy's run on Ilos. When she learned of Tevos' assistance in breaking the frigate free of the lockdown, Aethyta had a few choice words for her longtime friend, threatening the councilor with bodily harm equivalent to any that may befall Liara on their 'suicide mission' to the Terminus Systems. Aethyta was by no means any more pleased with the current situation. "Fuck. She's only 107 years old! I was out screwing everything that moved and playing commando at that age, not trying to bring my girlfriend back from the dead to save the galaxy and take down the fucking Shadow Broker!"

Tevos chuckled, "Eloquent as usual, Thyta. You always were one for action and not words. Thanks to Aria T'Loak and Captain Tremi, Liara's need for revenge against the Blue Suns has been put to rest, literally. At least your new assignment will put you close to your daughter and keep the rest of the Matriarchs at bay. They won't dare touch her, knowing she's being monitored."

Mozia was somber, "They were so happy when they were on Thessia, and they complemented each other's talents well. While Cerberus concerns me, if they somehow pull this off, I have faith the commander and Liara will make good on whatever opportunities are presented them. We must do what we can to ensure favorable circumstances exist for them to get back together."

Surprised, Tevos looked at her and asked, "You honestly think such a thing can be done?"

Mozia shrugged her shoulders. "Liara is a scientist. She does not strike me as a dreamy maiden subject to fantasies. She may be barely over 100 years old, but she has the maturity of a Matron three times her age. You have seen the reports. The Salarian STG team said the merc ship was already there, waiting, when the Collector ship struck. When the Systems Alliance vessel arrived, there were no personal recovery beacons on scope. Then Shepard shows up with the Blue Suns on Omega, in a stasis pod. You have to admit, it was either a very good plan or an incredible string of coincidences for all of that to happen just so."

Aethyta growled, "So you're saying putting my girl through hell was the Cerberus plan all along?"

Mozia shook her head, "No, it was the Shadow Broker's plan, in service to the Collectors. Cerberus did us a favor and got in the way, and lured Liara in with a chance to jump on for the ride. As you know, love is an extremely strong motivator, and Cerberus recruited her specifically for that reason."

"And now it's giving her nightmares. I'll make them pay for that somehow, some way. If it's the last thing I do. Anthropogenic bag of dicks!" Aethyta looked at her companions for any disagreement and saw none, so she took it as permission.

* * *

With Liara's surprising meteoric rise in the information business and the failure of the multiple assassination attempts, the Shadow Broker took a new approach. Personal information about Liara and the commander started showing up in odd places. Just little pieces here and there, first was the bit about being a pureblood, then the illicit affair with the commander to gain support for clearing her traitorous mother's name. When information hit the streets about the Omega hit on the Blue Suns, that got Aria T'Loak's attention and Liara could no longer afford to ignore it. Liara made a preemptive call, explaining the defamation campaign, and while Aria accepted the explanation, Liara wasn't sure that Aria was truly convinced. The team eventually uncovered the Shadow Broker agent responsible for the character assassination campaign and Liara had her commandos kidnap him and take him to an abandoned warehouse district. Once they identified him as a Turian named Phinnus Akos, Liara was able to walk in with his entire background at her beck and call; his family, his home address on Palaven, where his wife worked, where his children went to school. Given Liara's dangerously declining value of her own self esteem, the interrogation was disturbingly easy. By the end, she walked out having found more information than she expected; more leads and contacts, new directions of research, new avenues pointing to the Shadow Broker's hiding place. The one thing she didn't find was hope...hope of recovering any shred of the lost young archeologist who Samantha Shepard could love.

* * *

"Yes!" Liara banged her fist on the desk after reading the latest data feeds on her terminal. "Finally got you!" Liara quickly added a final piece of intelligence to a data packet she had been collating over the last year.

Her door opened without warning and she glanced up, pulling on her biotics, not expecting any visitors. "Dr T'Soni! Is everything ok in here? I heard a loud bang..." Her assistant, Nyxeris, glanced around nervously, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Liara had a predatory grin on her face as the wisps of blue trailed off her finger tips. "Oh, sorry, Nyxeris. It's nothing...I just finally managed to get the remaining piece of data I needed on a personal collection I've had running for over a year. I'll be able to close out something that's been bugging me for a while now." Liara downloaded the information to her omnitool and deleted it from the main system, taking care to run a scrubber program so the data was not recoverable. Not that their systems weren't secure, but she found Nyxeris a bit more curious than what Liara considered healthy in their line of work, and there were some ongoing jobs that her assistant would never be privy to...like the connection between a certain Captain Jessica Mikhailovich and the Blue Suns. After Alchera, Admiral Hackett hadn't even found enough evidence to commission an investigation, much less take any action against the commander of the SSV Madrid. Liara now had the complete package to guarantee a conviction at a military tribunal; she just needed to decide whether to hand it over to Hackett or to her commandos. Liara did not understand the Alliance legal system and did not know what the sentence would be. Whatever the punishment was, she didn't think it could ever be enough to make up for the loss of Commander Samantha Shepard...ever. She would hold the data for now; she had an important meeting to attend.

Once the scrubber program completed, Liara got up from her desk and headed out the door. "Nyxeris, I'm going out for lunch and then I have some errands to run. Call me if anything important pops up. I have no idea how long I will be, so keep my calendar free for the afternoon. Feel free to leave a bit early today if you would like. Just be sure to drop me a message when you go." Her assistant rose and acknowledged that she understood the instructions. Once Liara was down the stairs and around the corner, Nyxeris slipped into the main office to tidy up for the day. While she was in there, she also downloaded copies of all the camera feeds and the three listening devices she had planted about the room. She quickly collated all the information into a data packet, sent it to her private terminal at home for later review and then deleted it from her omnitool. She sat back at her desk and acted as if nothing had happened.

Liara was in a hurry; the arrival of that data packet put her about ten minutes behind schedule. Nothing drastic, but she knew she couldn't waste any time on her way home. She made a quick stop at the Asari grocery to pick up some tea and then headed straight for the apartment. She zipped in the door and immediately went to the kitchen to put on a kettle before heading to the bathroom to freshen up. Less than a minute later, the front door opened again and Riana stepped in the door, having been following her in trail from the office. Liara came around the corner with her shield generator active and her biotics ready, dropping everything once she confirmed it was Riana, who was still standing by the door, arms crossed. "Hello Riana! Yes, I know... the route was too direct, I didn't look around enough to stay aware of my surroundings, and I moved almost too quickly for you to trail effectively without giving away your position. Did I miss anything?"

Riana just laughed and shook her head. "Mistress, if you know what you are supposed to be doing, why don't you just do it?"

"Because I was late leaving and we have an important guest due any time. The Consort Sha'ira is coming and will be here in less than ten minutes."

Riana's head snapped up. "Mistress! We don't have adequate protection here for the Consort! The team is out on maneuvers and there's no way I'll get them back in time!"

"Relax Riana...She is bringing an entourage with at least two acolytes and four commandos. She is well protected. Otherwise, you would have known ahead of time and we would have been meeting her at the docks to provide a full escort. Besides, today she is not the Consort; she is an old family friend... though she was cryptic as to the purpose of her visit. We will just have to wait and see."

Sha'ira arrived as scheduled, placing two commandos outside the door and two more just inside as her acolytes did a quick security sweep of the apartment. Liara greeted her old mentor with open arms, "Matriarch Sha'ira, it is wonderful to see you. I miss seeing the familiar faces I became accustomed to in my youth."

Sha'ira closed the gap quickly and wrapped Liara in a comforting hug, replying, "Oh my little one, you are still in your youth and the stars of Thessia glow dimmer with your prolonged absence from the home world at such a tender age. Truly, how have you been?" Sha'ira relaxed her hug and grasped Liara's shoulders, holding her out at arm's length and looking into her eyes, waiting for the reply.

Liara took one of the Consort's hands and led to the couches, ensuring Sha'ira sat. "Come, let us sit and have tea while we chat." Liara went to the kitchen and grabbed the kettle she had placed on the stove and returned with a tray, sitting on a couch opposite the Consort. She politely asked, "So what brings you to Illium?"

Sha'ira was not so easily dodged, getting up and moving to the couch next to Liara. "You do, my little one, and you did not answer my question. How are you?"

Liara dropped her gaze to the floor, unsure how to answer the question, eventually falling back to her work. "I have been very busy here, trying to establish myself as a broker. It makes for long hours and I do get tired of it on occasion. It... it has been difficult, for many reasons."

"Liara. I will not lie to you. You know I hear things and am very attuned to the emotional well being of those important to me. We have not spoken since the death of your mother, and I know the absence of Shepard has to be heartbreaking. The things we do when we grieve are sometimes...startling." Liara pulled away and stood up, tears threatening, but a swelling of defensive anger kept them at bay.

"And just what all have you heard, Sha'ira, and from who? Why do you come now and not a year ago?" Liara was angry that someone had broken confidence, wondering just how much of her activity was public knowledge. Sha'ira was on the Citadel, so Councilor Tevos was high on the list of possibilities, but how much could Tevos know unless there was a spy among her commandos. She also knew the only one to witness her nightmares was Riana, so quickly looked her way for any signs of guilt, but saw none. For her part, Riana knew this intervention was coming and knew it was necessary. There was no guilt to hide and she was well prepared to defend her actions when the appropriate time arose.

Sha'ira rose and closed the distance again, grasping Liara's hands. "I have heard enough, and can see in your face that you travel in dark spaces, Liara. You bear burdens more than any maiden should..." Liara went to speak, and the matriarch cut her off, chastising her. "No, do not interrupt me, young one! For this you will at least show the courtesy to hear me out. I know of Shepard. I granted her the gift of words and I know that this death is premature. Her journey was not yet complete. What I failed to see was your part in ensuring that her journey continued. You have made difficult choices, but you must know in your heart they were the correct choices. There are many of us who stand behind the decisions and choices you have made."

As her old mentor spoke, Liara's anger dissipated and her previously checked tears began to fall as that anger was replaced by the depths of her despair. "How can you stand behind me when you do not know all I have done? The evils I have caused? Goddess, Sha'ira... my motives... they are not pure!" Liara collapsed onto the couch, her head buried in her hands while she covered her face in shame, sobbing hysterically.

Sha'ira simply sat beside the young maiden and wrapped her arms tightly around her, pulling her close to give her comfort and support. "My dearest Liara. You were an innocent thrust into the middle of a war the likes of which none have ever seen. There are many evils that will be done in the hope that a greater good will be achieved. I would say it is unfair that such an inexperienced maiden be placed in such a position, but it is your very innocence that will be your greatest redemption. There is nothing more pure than love."

Liara let out a ragged laugh devoid of humor, "Innocence? If you knew what I have done, that is the last word you would use to describe me!"

Sha'ira countered, "No it is not. I know not all of your motives are good. I know that anger, revenge and pride may not be the least of them, but I also know that you underestimate the true power of the one that is most important. Love will be your redemption."

Liara shook her head angrily. "I have no right to that anymore. I let Shepard die! Against every instinct I had, I left her behind when she needed me most! And then I gave her to Cerberus... oh Sha'ira...she has every reason to hate me! There will be no love left to redeem me! I...I do not deserve it." Liara's chest was incredibly tight with doubt and silent tears continued to stream down her face.

Liara was surprised when Sha'ira laughed. "Oh, Liara! Such doubt just shows me how little you really know of true love! No one 'deserves' love, it is freely given whether we need it, want it, deserve it, or not! I know you are young to have done this, but you have melded and shared a true union with Shepard, have you not?" The comment about her youth embarrassed Liara, and even though it made her blush deeply, she nodded yes to the query, so Sha'ira continued. "If it is so, then you know of the depth of her love for you. If you look to your heart, you will know your love for her and her love for you is eternal. A love that deep has strength, Liara; strength you can rely on to carry you through the darkest of times. You must be brave and face her rejection to honestly understand the meaning of true love. She will not forgive you, but only because she will see nothing to forgive."

Liara's expression was one of wistful longing. She so wanted to trust in Sha'ira's words, but couldn't find it within herself to believe. She expressed her doubts to the Consort, who asked a simple question. "After all the deaths she has caused, all the children left without parents, all the young adults taken too early from this realm, do you still love her?"

Liara glared as she answered, "She has never taken a life in malice, as I have. Of course I still love her. I will love none other like I love Samantha, to the end of my days."

Sha'ira saw Liara's expression and looked at the young Asari disapprovingly as she spoke, "You misjudge her and thus you misjudge yourself. In your firefights you have been injured. She has killed in your defense, and those killings were done in anger, because they dared to hurt you." Liara countered, "No, not in anger. You said it yourself; it was in defense of me, not truly in anger..."

Sha'ira smiled. "Exactly. In defense. And these people you have killed... were they in malice, or were they in defense of what they attempted to do to Shepard."

Liara was angry again, the tension in her voice almost making her squeak out her words. "They did not 'attempt' to do anything to Shepard! They killed her!"

The smile never left Sha'ira's face. "And thus why I say you have misjudged yourself, for they were not successful. They came very close, and they pushed your life into ruin, but Shepard is alive. At this very moment, somewhere, Shepard draws breath and will return to you. Therefore, you must purge yourself of this misplaced guilt, know in your heart that she will understand the reasons behind your actions, and have faith that you will love each other still, as you have since the moment your eyes first met. It is simply the way things are meant to be."

Liara stared at Sha'ira. _Goddess, how can she know of the spark that flew between us at our very first meeting? We have never spoken to anyone about that! _ Liara took a chance, "Consort, I knew you were a sensitive, but I did not realize you were a seer."

Sha'ira smiled and looked down at the floor as she answered. "The life of a seer is difficult, Liara. It carries levels of mystique that even the Asari attribute only to the Priestesses. If I let it be widely known, I would not be free to complete my work as I do. I would be confined to some temple and forced to act as an Oracle. That is not my path. Please, this is my greatest secret. Your mother knew, and now so do you. You must never tell anyone you know of this."

Liara questioned, "Then why would you tell me? It was not a slip...you told me on purpose. But you also must realize that if your predictions are true, then Shepard will know, because we hide nothing from each other."

The Consort smiled again, this time looking directly into Liara's eyes. "As a display of trust, to the joined entity that is you and Shepard. Because now I will ask you to give me the same measure in exchange. You have played a critical role that I failed to see. I would like to see all you have done, because I need to fill in the gaps. There may be something of import that only you can show me. If you are willing, then it is meant to be."

One of the acolytes had reheated the water for the tea, and pressed fresh, hot cups into each of their hands. Liara gave her a smile of thanks, and then realized how strange the expression felt on her face; she had not smiled in earnest since Shepard died... no, since Shepard had been abducted. Shepard breathes. Shepard lives. Liara felt a tremendous weight lifted off her shoulders and looked at Sha'ira. "I will show you, Seer. I will show you everything."

By the time they were done, it was late. Liara offered her bed, but Sha'ira declined, saying she would sleep during her return trip to the Citadel. As they said their goodbyes, Sha'ira had one last thing for her young friend. "Liara, in parting, I leave you one last gift of words. I saw in the sharing that you separated from your Turian friend in anger. Just know that his departure was necessary. He has another path...just as he saved your life on Omega, he will do the same for Shepard. Hold no malice toward him and know that his path now is to deliver her safe to you. We all have a role we must play."

As the Consort took her leave and the door closed behind her, Liara looked to her huntress. "Thank you, Riana." Riana cocked her head and questioned, "For what, Mistress?"

Liara actually laughed and realized how much she missed the simple joys such as laughter. They had been gone too long from her life. She looked at Riana again as she said, "For telling on me. I believe you have saved my soul, and probably my life." Liara grabbed her friend and hugged her tight, not letting go for a very long time as tears of gratitude ran down her face.


	6. Second Chances

Shepard felt her eyes flutter, and she heard a nagging voice in the back of her head that she couldn't seem to ignore. It kept demanding, "Wake up, Commander!" The bed rocked, hard, like someone was literally trying to shake her awake. Again, that damn insistent voice, "Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now! This facility is under attack." Shepard slowly came to full consciousness, stretching her tight limbs and rubbing a hand across the very tight skin of her face. She recognized the voice as the black-haired Australian woman who had been treating her, and she wondered how much time had passed. So many questions rolled through her mind. How had she survived? Where the hell was she? Her revelation at even being alive was cut short by Miranda speaking again, urgently. "Shepard! Your scars aren't healed, but you need to get moving! This facility is under attack!" The commander finally realized Miranda was not in the room...the voice came in over a loudspeaker.

As she sat up, the room continued to shake, and she caught a glimpse of heavy weapons fire through a huge window to the exterior of the station. Everything on her body ached with non-use. Her muscles protested the whole idea of motion, but she forced herself up off the bed. Miranda continued to provide direction, encouraging her, "There's a pistol in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry!"

A quick glance, and she had her destination is sight. When she got there, there was not only the pistol, but also armor. If there was going to be a fight, Shepard was going to need that, so she grabbed everything and put it all on as quickly as she could, Miranda's voice still rattling on in the background. As Shepard did a weapons check, she realized she had a problem. "This pistol doesn't have a thermal clip!"

Miranda was exasperated. "It's a med bay! We'll get you a clip from...Damn it! Shepard! Duck! Keep your head down and shield yourself from the blast!" Shepard was operating in the blind, and just had to trust that Miranda saw something on a surveillance camera that Shepard couldn't see, so she quickly ducked behind a short room divider. Suddenly the door to the med bay blasted apart, and Miranda shouted, "Someone's hacking security, trying to kill you! You need to get moving!"

Shepard ran out into the hallway, every step she took her muscles loosened a bit, remembering what it was like to be in motion. Shepard saw a clip lying on the ground and scooped it up, inserting it into her pistol in a familiar motion. As she slapping it in, she called out, "Got a clip, Miranda!"

"Good! Looks like they set up barricades to try holding the mechs off. Look out! Mechs incoming!" Shepard only saw a single mech so she pulled on her biotics and charged the mech, shattering it into pieces without firing a single shot. Miranda directed her to a set of stairs, telling her she needed to keep moving and get to the shuttle bay. As Shepard ran up the stairs and through yet another doorway, Miranda called out another warning. "Security mechs are closing on your position. Take cover!" Shepard sprinted across the room toward a short dividing wall, and hit the ground on her hip, sliding the last couple of meters on the smooth tile floor as the mechs opened the door on the far side of the room. Miranda was unsure of Shepard's readiness, so was cautious, "Don't take any chances! Stay in cover while you take out those mechs!" Shepard took out three of the mechs that way, but they seemed to just keep coming. She felt the need to advance her position, so once again called on her biotic charge and threw herself right into the middle of the fray. The mech she hit shattered and exploded, and she quickly finished off a second with an up close head shot. The final mech was relatively close, so was an easy pistol shot. They had emerged from a storage room, so Shepard took the opportunity to grab up a new thermal clip for her pistol before advancing.

As she came around the next corner, she saw a huge Atlas mech in an adjacent hallway. Fortunately they were separated by a thick glass wall, and Shepard hooked a hard right to get away. She had no desire to take on an Atlas with only a pistol; she was good, but not suicidal. Miranda was still shouting directions for her, guiding her through the passages, and urging her to keep moving toward the shuttle bay. As she entered the next room, she found herself on a balcony with a dead security officer...

Shepard grinned, thinking of Wrex as she picked up the officer's grenade launcher. Another large group of mechs entered the room below, and she didn't waste time picking them off one at a time. She happily employed her new toy, blasting the entire group into oblivion in a single shot. Shepard whooped with joy, "Now that's what I'm talkin' about!"

Miranda, the ever pushy project director, piped in again, "Commander! Move to your right and take the elevator down a level."

As she rolled out of the elevator on the lower level, Shepard realized there was a jet of fire blocking access to the door. Getting up to full speed, she ran at the wall of flame, hitting the floor and sliding completely underneath it on the end closest to the nozzle. As her feet hit the wall on the far side, she popped up and ran out into the next hallway, hardly even breaking stride. Miranda was still talking, but the transmission was now very broken and Shepard could hardly understand what she was saying. With no direction, Shepard started opening doors at random, trying to find her way. One door led to an office, where Shepard polished off two mechs, then checked out the computers. They contained the history of the Lazarus project, and Shepard got her first glimpse into what it took to put her back together. She now understood they had spent over four billion credits and had to use some synthetic parts to make her whole; she just prayed the synthetic pieces weren't anything important. A nearby explosion jerked her back to the present, and she got back on the move.

As she continued down the hallway, she started hearing gunfire and someone yelling. She hustled out into a room and saw a single male human biotic lifting a mech across the room, shouting as he did so. "Gravity's one mean mother, huh?" She ran up to take shelter behind the wall he was standing near, and he ducked down behind the wall with her in surprise. "Shepard? What the hell?" She helped him take out the last three mechs with her pistol. He looked at her in amazement. "What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

Shepard grimaced. "You're asking me? I'm new to this party, running around following directions of some woman named Miranda, whom I never even really met."

"Miranda? She's alive? That's good to hear! I'm Jacob Taylor, been stationed here a couple of years...every since you arrived."

That stopped Shepard in her tracks. "Two years?"

Jacob looked apologetic as he spoke, "Yeah, sorry. Probably not the best way to break that to you. I can explain more later, but we have to get out of this mess first. If we can make it to the shuttles, we'll talk then. Help me finish off these mechs!"

Shepard was happy to help kill the mechs, but after that she wasn't budging without some answers. "I know this isn't the best time, but I'm sick of stumbling around when I don't know what's going on."

Jacob shook his head in understanding, "Fair enough, what do you want to know?"

Shepard referred back to her first question. "Two years? What the hell took so long?"

"Miranda can give you details, she was the Project Lazarus lead, but when they brought you in here your body was mangled. Burned almost beyond recognition. The only thing still fully intact was your head, but I guess that's all they really needed. As long as your brain still functioned they could clone parts and rebuild the rest. Even that proved a challenge though, and they ended up using a few implants and synthetic parts. From what I understand though, you're still you in all the important things. The whole point of the project was to bring Commander Shepard back; the real Shepard, not some clone or synthetic replacement."

Shepard shook her head. "Shit, I guess that's a good thing. I'm here, anyway. That's a start, but where exactly is here? Doesn't seem like an Alliance station..."

You're right, it's not. The Alliance officially declared you killed in action. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead. If we don't get to those shuttles, they'll be right!"

"Speaking of getting to the shuttles, what happened here? Any idea who's attacking?"

Jacob shrugged his shoulders. "Good question. I'm guessing it had to be an inside job. You'd need top security access to hack all the mechs."

Shepard dreaded her nest question, but she had to know. She had to know if Liara survived. "What about the rest of my crew? Did anyone make it?"

"Just about everybody survived. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out. Navigator Pressley was killed by an explosion. But everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew... the Asari, the Quarian, the Turian...they all made it out alive."

As Jacob answered, relief washed over her and Shepard felt all the dread drain out of her body. _Thank God! My beautiful Blue! _The commander tried to sound nonchalant as she continued her query, "Do you know what any of them are doing now?"

Jacob had no more answers. It had been two years and Shepard had been the focus, not the Normandy crew. Some had left the Alliance and everyone else had been reassigned. The non-Alliance crew just drifted away and Jacob just assumed they all returned home. Shepard was now in a hurry to get moving; the faster they got off the station, the sooner Shepard could start the hunt for Liara. Just as they started moving again, Wilson contacted Jacob and directed them to a rendezvous point. After fighting their way through multiple mechs, they finally caught up to Wilson in one of the communications rooms. He claimed to have been injured by the mechs and even though they didn't question him about it, neither Shepard nor Jacob believed him; mechs don't leave behind injured, they kill them. When they questioned him about Miranda, Wilson was dismissive, "Forget about Miranda. She was over in D wing. The mechs were all over that sector. There's no way she survived."

Jacob glared at him. "Shepard was in the bio wing and it was crawling too, yet here she is. A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda either. She's alive."

Shepard cut off the argument with a simple statement. "Miranda was directing me to the shuttle bay. If she's alive, she'll be there. Let's move."

As a twosome, Shepard and Jacob had made pretty good time; adding Wilson into the mix was a bonus, and they moved through the rest of the station fairly easily and soon found themselves at the shuttle bay door. Wilson stepped up and typed in the entry key for the door. "C'mon, through here. We're almost at the..." As the door opened, it revealed a battered, but very much alive, Miranda Lawson. Wilson appeared shocked, stuttering, "Miranda! But... you were..." Wilson's sentence was cut off, as Miranda whipped her pistol up and shot him at point blank range, finishing his sentence for him. "Dead?"

Jacob ran up, "What the hell are you doing?"

Miranda looked at Jacob and displayed no remorse. "My job. Wilson betrayed us all." Shepard agreed with Miranda's assessment. Since they had caught up to him in the communications room, something about his story just hadn't added up. Miranda looked at the commander appraisingly. "Good instincts. Some people are far too trusting to ever see that coming. Come on. Let's grab the shuttle and get out of here. My boss wants to speak to you."

Shepard didn't move. "Your boss? Just who might that be, by the way?"

Miranda shrugged her shoulders. "I guess now is as good a time as any. Most people just call him the Illusive Man. He runs an organization called Cerberus..."

Miranda didn't get any farther before Shepard jumped back and pulled her pistol, aiming it at Miranda's head. "Cerberus? What the fuck? Why would Cerberus spend four billion credits to save me?"

Jacob pulled his pistol and had it aimed at the commander, but Miranda was perfectly calm as she answered, "Because you're the best hope humanity has of surviving the Reapers, and the Alliance left you for dead. Somebody had to pick u p the pieces. That somebody was Cerberus."

Jacob added on, "You don't have a lot of options here, Commander. There's one shuttle, so you either go with us or not, but you won't survive alone on this station for long. Not with all the mechs running loose, and no communications with the outside world. You want to fight the Reapers? You want to find your crew? You holster your pistol and we talk about it."

Shepard grudgingly dropped her pistol, glaring back and forth between the two. "Fine. So what's next?"

Miranda answered plainly. "We get in the shuttle and take you to the Illusive Man. We'll see what happens after that." Once in the shuttle, Miranda informed the commander they needed to evaluate her condition with a number of questions.

Shepard shook her head in disgust. "Christ. Even Cerberus has to do psyche evals, huh? Don't worry, I'm actually ok with being dead... or nearly dead...and being brought back to life with some really awesome technology. Anger issues? Yea, I got anger issues. You assholes killed my father. I'll never trust you. I'll always be watching for the knife in the back. I might even look for opportunities to plant mine first, so I know you'll never trust me either."

Jacob chimed in. "Shepard took down all those mechs without any trouble; her performance won't be an issue."

Miranda just raised her eyebrows and waited for patiently for everyone to finish speaking. She looked first at the commander, "Yes, well, all of that is fairly obvious, and judging from your attitude your personality seems intact. What we need to check is memory. We need to make sure we actually have Commander Shepard, as she was when the attack occurred." Her attention then shifted, "Jacob. Ask the questions."

Jacob relented, and pulled up a questionnaire on his omnitool, proceeding through a number of both personal and service related questions. Shepard answered them flawlessly and Jacob spoke in her defense. "Come on, Miranda. Enough with the quizzes. The memories are there."

Miranda shrugged. "Fine. We'll just have to hope the Illusive Man accepts our little field tests as evidence enough." The rest of the shuttle trip was spent in silence; Shepard contemplating what her future would bring, and how long it would be before she'd be able to break away and go find Liara.

* * *

Shepard stepped into the room, expecting to see an office of some kind, instead finding a holographic communications terminal. She stepped into the circle and the scanner automatically turned on. She soon found herself in communication with the Illusive Man. As soon as her image rectified, he started speaking. "Commander Shepard."

The commander crossed her arms and took a casual pose, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Illusive Man. I thought we'd be meeting face-to-face."

The Illusive Man sat casually in a chair, legs crossed, smoking a cigarette. Most of the room around him was dark, but Shepard noted a red supergiant star visible through the viewport behind him. "A necessary precaution. Not unusual for people who know what you and I know."

Shepard was still fishing for why Cerberus really brought her back. "From what I hear, I cost you a small fortune. Why'd you do it?"

The Illusive Man put his cigarette down and got very serious. "For the defense and preservation of humanity. I didn't spend two years and billions of credits bringing you back to serve as a common soldier. Humanity is up against the greatest threat of our brief existence."

Without hesitation, Shepard inserted, "The Reapers."

The Illusive Man replied, "Good to see your memory's still intact. How are you feeling?"

Shepard took a slightly more aggressive posture as she responded. "Skip the pleasantries. You need to earn the right to ask me those kinds of questions."

The Illusive Man got slightly defensive. "Cerberus isn't as evil as you believe. You and I are on the same side; we just have different methods."

Shepard glared as she answered. "So the ends justify the means? Bullshit. There's a right way and a wrong way to do things. So what really made you bring me back? What are the Reapers doing that made you spend all that money on me?"

The Illusive Man explained how multiple human colonies had disappeared, and how the Council and the Alliance were doing nothing to stop it. He rose and walked closer to Shepard's holographic projection as he spoke. "We believe it's someone working for the Reapers, just as Saren and the Geth aided Sovereign. You've seen it yourself and you bested them in the first round. That's just one reason we chose you."

Shepard struggled to understand why they would target a specific race. "Sovereign was trying to harvest all life in the galaxy. Why would the Reapers now target a few human colonies?"

The Illusive Man grimaced as he responded, "It's hardly a few. Hundreds of thousands of colonists have vanished. They are remote and scattered, and nobody's paying attention because they seem random, like the work of slavers or pirates. We believe this is not the case; I think they have targeted humanity because you got their attention when you killed one of them."

Shepard wondered if what the Illusive Man said could be true. Was this all her doing? "So you're saying this is my fault. If you believe that why bring me back? You could have trained an entire army for what you spent on me."

The Illusive Man was happy to explain, feeling now that Shepard was hooked because she felt responsible. He could see the question in her eyes. "You're unique. Not just in ability or experience, but in what you represent. You stood for the galaxy at a key moment. You're more than a soldier, you're a symbol. I don't know if the Reapers understand fear, but you killed one of them. They have to respect that. One way or the other, we're going after the Reapers. You talk about the right way and the wrong way to do things. You don't like us, that's understandable, so if you want this done the right way, then join us and lead our cause. I have a shuttle ready to take you to Freedom's Progress, the latest colony to be abducted. Miranda and Jacob will brief you."

Shepard let out a grunt of displeasure. "Miranda killed Wilson in cold blood, and Jacob's just a gun for hire. I want my own team; a team I can trust."

"Miranda executed a traitor, and she saved your life in more ways than one. Jacob is prior Alliance. He doesn't trust me, but at least he's honest about it. He's dedicated to humanity, you can trust his motives. You'll be just fine with them for now. If after Freedom's Progress you agree to work with us, we'll talk about a team. If not, you'll be free to walk away."

Shepard was skeptical. "You spent four billion credits, and you'd just let me walk out the door?"

"Honestly? It would make me very angry." The Illusive Man continued, confident, "But you'll find the evidence. And we have the resources for you to do the mission. You can go to the Alliance, but what do you honestly think will happen? As far as they know, you've been dead for two years. You'll be tied up in red tape while another hundred thousand colonists disappear. You'll see for yourself and you'll work for us. It's a calculated risk I'm willing to take."

Shepard uncrossed her arms, annoyed that he was probably right about the Alliance. She pointed at the Illusive Man, "If you're after the Reapers, just point me in the right direction; but we do this my way."

The Illusive Man nodded and finished with a simple "Understood. Good luck, Shepard," as he terminated the call.

* * *

Shepard walked back out into the main room with Miranda and Jacob. As she approached, Miranda reported, "The Illusive Man is very impressed with you. I'm eager to see if you can live up to his expectations on this mission."

The commander looked directly at Miranda as she said, "I can't have anyone disobeying my commands when we get there."

Miranda took no offense, replying simply, "I know who I report to. As long as you don't do anything to betray Cerberus, I'll follow your orders."

The commander looked at her and Jacob and shrugged her shoulders. "I guess we have a shuttle waiting." The trip was relatively uneventful and Shepard took the time to try to get to know the two operatives a bit better. Miranda was Cerberus to the core, confident in the commander's abilities but concerned about her motivations. Jacob on the other hand was a disillusioned Alliance officer unhappy with their response to the abductions. He joined Cerberus because they were actually doing something about it instead of ignoring the problem and hoping it would go away. Shepard thought about her initial warnings about Saren and Sovereign and decided she could relate; Jacob was someone she could work with.

During transit, Jacob gave the commander a mission brief, informing her that all the other colonies that had been hit, not a single clue was left behind. It was as if they all just picked up and left. No signs of struggle, no dead bodies, nothing. As they approached Freedom's Progress, Miranda made it clear she was willing to work with Shepard, asking if she had any orders. Shepard kept it simple. "First priority is survivors. If there are any, we need to talk to them, if not, then we see what we can find. We're going to find out who did this and take them down. Nothing gets in our way."

As they touched down at the colony, it was surreal. A soft snow was falling, muffling all noise, not that there was much to muffle. Not a single person to be seen, just like all the other strikes Jacob had described. The team started to work their way through the colony, building by building searching for anything that may provide some clue as to what happened. As Shepard dropped a blast shield so they could enter another part of the colony, they came under fire from defense mechs. The three person team defeated them easily enough, but the disconcerting aspect of the attack was they should not have registered humans as hostiles. Miranda commented that someone had to have programmed them to attack on sight. Then she made a statement that was both chilling and promising at the same time, "We're not alone here." For the first time, they had the possibility of finding a survivor.

They continued fighting their way through the mechs, and made steady progress across the colony. They finally popped into a warehouse, and ran into a small group of Quarians. They immediately jumped up and trained their weapons on the team, shouting, "Stop right there!" Shepard couldn't believe her ears. She heard a voice she would recognize anywhere when a small Quarian ran up and pushed the weapon of the lead Quarian down, saying, "Prazza, you said you'd let me handle this."

Shepard immediately dropped the barrel of her weapon down and took a step forward, calling in surprise, "Tali?"

The little Quarian snapped around at the familiar voice, "Wait... Shepard?"

Prazza wasn't giving in, pulling his weapon back up and shouting, "I'm not taking any chances with Cerberus operatives!"

Tali was livid, shouting at her security detail. "Put those weapons down!" Tali turned back to the group that just barged in on them and hesitated. She really couldn't believe her eyes and ears. "Shepard? Is that... you're alive?"

Shepard laughed for the first time since she had reawakened. "Tali! God it's good to see you, but forgive me if I'm not real comfortable talking at gunpoint."

Tali turned back to her squad yet again, "Prazza! Tell your team to put their weapons away!" Prazza was still belligerent, but put his rifle way, asking why Shepard would be working for Cerberus. Tali turned back to the commander as she answered him. "I don't know. But if this is Shepard...I don't know. Shepard would have a reason." She was looking directly at Shepard, expecting an explanation.

Shepard understood Tali's need and provided her an answer. "Tali, it really is me. If you don't believe it, ask some obscure question from one of our private moments down in Engineering... or wherever. I can prove it's really me if you need me to. Truth is, the Alliance abandoned me for dead and Cerberus saved me, I've been in a coma for two years. They're giving me resources because we have the same goal, but I'm not taking their orders. I'm here to find out who's taking the human colonists. What about you?"

"No, Shepard, the offer alone would be enough to prove your sincerity, but everything about you is just so...you! I have no doubts. To answer your question, one of our people was here on Pilgrimage. He never liked large groups, so figured a small backwater colony would be perfect. His name is Veetor and we're here for the same reason...to find one of our people. We saw him when we landed, but he took off and hid. We suspect he is the one who reprogrammed the mechs."

Prazza added to the discussion, "He has damage to his suit's CO2 scrubbers, and combine that with an infection from an open-air exposure, and he's likely delirious."

Shepard thought about how to proceed and offered to partner up with the little Quarian. "Ok, Tali. Might as well team up. Who knows how many mechs this colony had for defense. Two teams stand a better chance at succeeding. Veetor is the only witness we've got, and we've lost hundreds of thousands of colonists. We just need to know what he saw; we need to know who's doing this so we can go after them. Deal?"

Tali agreed, and the teams split up, each taking a different path to the warehouse where they thought Veetor was hiding. The two teams progressed through the colony, fighting their way through mechs and security drones, while continuing to search for other clues. It wasn't long before Tali called out on the comm, "Shepard! Prazza and his squad rushed on ahead. I told them to wait but they wouldn't listen. I'm sure they want to find Veetor and take him away before you get here! Hurry!" Shepard's team sped up and worked their way though some more security drones as fast as they could. Tali called out again, "Veetor reprogrammed a heavy mech! It's tearing Prazza's squad apart!"

Shepard responded to Tali, "We're right outside the blast shield, if you can drop it, we can help!"

As the blast shield came down, Shepard's team saw the Quarian marine squad getting obliterated. The mech had heavy armor plating and heavy weapons; the Quarians were definitely overmatched. Shepard directed Miranda to try to overload its shields, and Shepard used her grenade launcher to start, but only had two grenades, so switched quickly to her heavy pistol. They eventually took the mech down, but not before the Quarian squad took a lot of damage. Shepard found Tali, and Tali told her to go find Veetor while she tended to the Quarian wounded. Shepard's team immediately headed to the warehouse and located Veetor.

The delirious Quarian was sitting at a computer terminal, with nine monitors open in front of him, all streaming data from all over the colony. Veetor was rambling, "Monsters coming back. Mechs will protect. Safe from swarms. Have to hide. No monsters. No swarms..." Shepard walked up behind him and called his name and he answered, "No Veetor. Not here. Swarms can't find. Monsters coming. Have to hide." He continued to type on the terminal, oblivious to the group standing behind him. Shepard shook her head and programmed her omnitool to override the monitors. With a single wave of her arm, all the monitors went blank, causing Veetor to look up, finally acknowledging them. He got out of the chair and turned to face them. "You're...not one of them. You're human. They...they didn't find you?"

Shepard was surprised by the gentleness in Miranda's voice as she asked Veetor, "Who didn't find us?"

Veetor answered, "The monsters. The swarms. They took everyone!"

Shepard explained to him they weren't at the colony when it happened, that they had just arrived, and that they needed him to tell them what he saw. Veetor surprised them when he answered, "You don't know. You didn't see. But I see everything." With that, he turned the monitors back on, and surveillance videos from the entire colony came on the screens.

The team watched in amazement when they realized Veetor had spliced it all together into a sequential picture of the entire attack. They all watched the video and finally got a good look at who was attacking the colonists. With shock in her voice, Miranda identified them, "My God. I think it's the Collectors."

She always seemed so cool; Shepard was surprised anything could alarm Miranda, so the tone of her voice had the commander concerned. "What the hell's a Collector?"

Jacob was the one who answered the question, telling Shepard it was a species beyond the Omega-4 relay and that only a few people had ever seen one in person, because they usually worked through intermediaries, like slavers or mercenaries. Miranda found her voice again, stating, "If they're involved with the Reapers somehow, it could explain what happened to the colonies. They have very advanced technology, and could very easily have something that disables the entire colony at once."

Veetor spoke again and provided the clue they were missing. "Seeker swarms. No one can hide. They find you, freeze you. Then the monsters take you away."

Shepard asked Veetor why he wasn't taken, how he escaped. Veetor just shook his head and said, "Swarms didn't find me. Monsters didn't know I was here."

Miranda finished the explanation. "They're using technology specifically designed to detect humans! That's why only human colonies have been hit. The swarms must be using a type of nerve toxin or something."

Veetor kept on talking, "I studied them. The monsters. The swarms. I recorded them with my omnitool. Lots of readings. Electromagnetic. Dark energy."

Miranda stepped up. "We need to get this data to the Illusive Man. Grab the Quarian and call the shuttle to come pick us up."

Tali had walked in just in time to hear Miranda's last statement. "What!? Veetor is injured! He needs treatment, not an interrogation!"

Shepard held up her hand and said, "Just hold on a minute! We don't need Veetor, just his data. We can take a copy of all the security footage, and I trust Tali to give us a copy of Veetor's data." Shepard paused, and then looked directly at Tali. "Unless you can come with us? I would love to have you back at my side Tali, just like old times."

Tali sounded sad as she responded. "I'm still trying to accept that you're even alive...and with Cerberus! I have obligations, Shepard. I have a mission of my own. I can't walk away from that right now, not even for you."

Shepard looked from Tali to Miranda. "We get the omnitool data, but Veetor goes with Tali. He needs medical attention best provided by his own people."

Tali thanked Shepard and told her, "I'm glad you're the one giving the orders. I promise, if we turn up anything, I'll send it your way."

Shepard thanked Tali, and gave the Quarian a firm hug before they parted. Tali knew it was truly Shepard when she whispered quietly in her ear so she knew only Tali would hear. "I need you to get word to Blue...quietly." As she stepped back to take her leave, Shepard spoke out loud. "Take care of yourself out there, little sister. I hope to hear from you soon."

* * *

It took Tali an amazing amount of time to track down Dr Liara T'Soni. She wasn't on Thessia, and her normal contacts, Garrus and Ashley, had disappeared out of sight. It took a concerted effort and she eventually ended up calling in a favor from a friend with ties to Quarian intelligence to finally locate the Asari on Illium. Tali was nervous as she placed the call. On Illium, Liara was just finishing up a particularly grueling day of negotiations when her omnitool rang. With a sigh, she plopped back down at her desk and looked at the caller identification. Her heart made an unexpected leap when she realized it was her little Quarian friend. _Goddess, I haven't talked to Tali since just after the accident. _Liara picked up, with a tired smile on her face. "Tali! It's so good to hear from you! I'm so sorry I haven't kept in touch!" Liara paused for just a moment before continuing. "I have no excuses. I... I don't know what to say."

Tali tried to ease the Asari's guilt. "Don't worry about it, Liara. Not like I've called you either. It takes two to have a conversation and I haven't been any better." There was a long pause, and then Tali blurted out, "Can you talk right now? I mean really...talk?"

Liara caught the drift of the question and answered promptly. "Not really. I was just finishing up at work and getting ready to head home. Can I call you back in about twenty minutes... at this number?"

Tali laughed, "Absolutely. And get something to drink first! It's been ages, and I have a feeling we have a lot to talk about!"

Liara locked up the office and headed straight home, locking the doors behind her and setting the apartment into secure mode, blocking all communications except her secure network. She sat down and called Tali, who picked up immediately. Tali's first words were, "Are we secure?"

Liara answered to the affirmative, and questioned, "Tali, what's this about? Are you ok?" Tali assured her she was fine, and then asked Liara a very odd question, asking if she was alone, or if she had anyone she trusted with her. Liara told her she had her commando, Riana, there with her. "Do I need to send her out?"

Tali responded immediately, "Riana? No! Absolutely not! I actually think you should have her there with you...is she where she can hear?" Liara called Riana to come into the room, and while waiting for her to show up, told Tali the direction of the conversation was a little frightening. Tali apologized, tried to calm her fears, and told Liara she would understand soon enough. When Riana showed up standing behind Liara in the vid screen, Tali took a deep breath and started her story. "Liara, I ran into an old friend last week. It's taken me this long to find you, or I would have passed the news on sooner. They wanted me to contact you... the message was strange, I'm not sure exactly what you're supposed to do with it."

Liara was about to go crazy. "Tali! Just spit it out! What old friend, and what exactly did they say? Was it Garrus?"

Tali looked surprised. "Garrus? I thought he was with you?"

Liara groaned, "Ok, so not Garrus, he's on Omega, but we'll talk about him later! If not Garrus, then who?"

Tali took a deep breath, "The message was this...'I need you to get word to Blue...quietly.'"

Liara gasped and clutched at the dog tags under her jacket. There was only one person in the galaxy that had ever called her that. "By the Goddess, Tali'Zorah! You ran into her! You actually spoke with her?" Liara felt faint and grabbed onto the edge of her desk to steady herself. Riana gripped her shoulders to keep her upright in the chair.

"Yes, we were at Freedom's Progress..." Tali proceeded to tell Liara the whole story of their encounter, and what little information Shepard had been able to pass onto her, with two Cerberus agents watching her every move. Liara was glad she recorded everything, because when they finally hung up she couldn't remember more than half of the conversation, and ended up replaying it multiple times. _Goddess, they actually did it and Sha'ira had known the truth of it. _At that moment, in the world of Liara T'Soni, nothing else mattered. Once again, she had hope because Samantha Shepard was alive!

* * *

**Note: Yay! Shepard lives! lol. Not that any of this was a surprise... of course we all know that Shepard comes back. This is, however, the end of my "2-year" interlude... next up will be 'Working With the Enemy,' the third in the series. It will be the full-up ME2 play through serialization, post Freedom's Progress, and the first chapter should be up by the time you've finished reading this. :-)**

**Thanks for sticking with me, appreciate the feedback and great reviews and comments I've been receiving. Also very happy to announce that earlier this week 'First Life' went over 10,000 hits! Thanks so much for the support!**


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